


Wanderlust

by UKthewhitewolf



Series: Life in Moominvalley [1]
Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Eventual ones anyway, It's not important but it's a thing, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Mutual Pining, Older Characters, Slow Burn, Snusmumriken | Snufkin Has Paws and a Tail, Trans Snusmumriken | Snufkin, by which i mean there's no cars, kind of???, main focus is moomin and snufkin, no beta i'm going this alone, road trip but moomin style bois, some of the characters are only mentioned, they're all young adults instead of children now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2020-07-12 12:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19945813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UKthewhitewolf/pseuds/UKthewhitewolf
Summary: Definition of wanderlust: strong longing for or impulse toward wanderingTurns out all young moomins feel a pull to travel before they settle down, and Moomintroll is no exception. There's no rule that says he has to go alone, though.





	1. Decisions are made

He supposed it was to be expected, this feeling of restlessness. His father had travelled almost all of his youth, after all, and he’d always enjoyed a good adventure, but Moomin couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. Once again he’d woken up barely 2 weeks into winter and found it nearly impossible to get back to sleep for longer than one night. It had been slowly getting worse, this habit of waking during winter while the rest of his family slept peacefully in their hibernation.  
Once or twice Little My had woken up as well and kept him company, and a couple of times Snorkmaiden stirred for a few days, but otherwise everyone slumbered while Moomin sat awake. Everyone except Too-Ticky, anyway, who he was eternally thankful for. She was always happy to offer company at the bath house, and as the years had passed she’d taught him a lot about various survival skills. The Snork was often awake for winter too, but he never visited him, knowing he was far too busy with whatever he was inventing next.  
For a long time Moomin thought this feeling was just a winter feeling, the kind born of frustration and boredom, and it did seem to go away as soon as spring returned, until now anyway. Last year he had brushed it off and ignored it, thrown himself into the goings-on of the Valley and assumed that everything would return to normal next year.  
But it didn’t.  
It was already a month into spring, everyone had relaxed back into their usual routines and Moomin had been enjoying the days spent with his friends, but this confounded feeling of being restless remained. He was fairly sure he’d thoroughly annoyed everyone with his apparent inability to stay still by now, everyone but Snufkin anyway, who was always happy to join him on a hike.

He found himself rather envious of his dear friend. He’d always been sad when Snufkin left for his winter travels, although as they grew he understood and accepted his needs with a grace that a younger Moomin had been incapable of, but now it was accompanied by something akin to jealousy. The Snufkin was so free to just wander wherever his feet took him for an entire season, not needing to concern himself with causing upset and worry to people he left behind. Not that his friend was ignorant to the feelings of everyone back in Moomin Valley! Not at all, but everyone knew the simple truth of the fact that Snufkin left in winter and there was no ifs, ands or buts about it.  
Moomin leaned his chin on his hand, staring out of his bedroom window at the sunset blanketing the Valley in golden-bronze light with a sigh. He really needed to talk to someone about this. He was becoming irritable with it all and bottling things up was never a good idea. Moominpappa is the one he should probably bring this up to, it was his stories of his own travels Moomin was sure had prompted this whole thing, but as much as he loved his father he wasn’t entirely confident in his ability to listen to Moomin’s problems rationally. Indeed, he was more likely to declare it time for an adventure and get carried away with himself, which wouldn’t help Moomin and his dilemma at all.  
Moominmamma it was then.

Moomin found himself hovering in the doorway of their kitchen, twisting the tuft of his tail between his fingers as he considered how best to bring everything up.  
“Are you alright there dear? Why don’t you come and sit down, I’ll get us some tea.”  
How Moominmamma seemed to always know exactly what someone needed Moomin would never understand, but not for the first time he was incredibly glad of it.  
He took a seat at their kitchen table, gratefully accepting a steaming cup of tea when placed in front of him. Mamma had made it with honey and cinnamon, a favourite of his. She really was eerily good at knowing what his moods were.  
“Now then,” she began, taking her own seat and looking at him with the same soft expression she always had when he needed to talk about something serious with her, “what has you so wound up?”  
Moomin sighed.  
“You know how Pappa travelled so much, when he was younger? Is that… normal, for moomins?”  
Moomin stared down at his tea, a slight frown creasing his forehead.  
“You and Pappa have always said it’s the nature of moomins to hibernate all through winter, but he couldn’t have hibernated through his travels. He’d have mentioned it, anyway, with how detailed his memoirs are. So what’s… Is that normal? The travelling? Or is that a one-off kind of thing?”  
Mamma hummed gently, thinking over his many questions.  
“This is about your waking up during winter.”  
There was no question in her voice, but Moomin nodded all the same.  
“Well dear, I suppose it is normal for us to be more active when we are young. Pappa isn’t the only one who travelled in years long past, although my own weren’t quite so… adventurous.”   
Mamma smiled at him, and despite everything he found himself relaxing.  
“It’s not just being active though Mamma, it’s…” Moomin fumbled over his words, his head bobbing from side to side, “it’s more like feeling… uncomfortable?”  
The word didn’t seem right, and Mamma nodded at him to continue.  
“Maybe not quite uncomfortable. More like restless? It’s not that I’m not happy, I am I promise! But there’s this feeling I have, like how Snufkin describes how he feels when he takes one of his trips ‘yonder’ sometimes. Like I just can’t stay where I am without going mad.”  
Moomin looked up at his mother with his ears drooped to the sides, talking about this was a lot more distressing than he imagined.  
Mamma only rested a paw on his own and gave him a small smile.  
“We had thought perhaps that if we raised you hibernating every year you wouldn’t have to deal with this.”  
Her words confused him, his expression changing from despair to curiosity in an instant. Mamma leaned back and pulled Granny’s book of remedies from his apron, he hadn’t even known she had it with her, and began thumbing through the pages. Moomin leaned over to see what she was looking up, although he had no need to, she read the passage aloud for him.  
“Wanderlust. The intense desire and longing for travel with no destination in mind. It is noted that all young moomins experience wanderlust in their youth, and the only cure is to listen to one’s heart.”  
Mamma did not add any comments of her own to the description, simply placed the book down with the page open and went back to her tea, allowing Moomin to process the information for himself.  
“Listen to one’s heart… What does that mean? I should travel?” Moomin looked at his mother, hoping she would have a firm answer for him, but her soft gaze told him that she did not.  
“You know what it means, my dear.” Mamma got up from her seat and pet him between his ears, leaving him to his thoughts.  
Yes, he knew what it meant. Granny’s remedies could sometimes be vague, but this one felt crystal clear to him. If he listened to his heart, it was telling him to travel. Go and see the world, figure out his place in it, experience life in other places before he settled into anything.  
His mind made up, Moomin cleaned up his tea cup and returned to his room. Tomorrow, he would tell his parents properly and begin preparations.  
It was time for him to travel, just like his parents.


	2. Invitations are given

His parents had been as supportive of his decision as any moomin could ever hope for. Mamma pretty much already knew anyway having talked him through his problem, and Pappa had nodded seriously before petting his head embarrassingly and declaring it quite time for his son to surpass his own adventuring grandeur. Moomin had no intention of partaking in any grandeur, he just wanted to GO - anywhere - but he didn’t say anything about it, he was just glad to have his parent’s blessing.  
He spent the next 2 weeks alternating between spending time with his friends as usual and preparing for his trip. With no destination it was difficult to predict how long it would take, but he wanted to do this _right_ so he was giving himself at least a year.  
It felt a little daunting, to think of it like that. An entire year away from home, fending for himself, but it was also exciting.

Moomin went down his list of supplies again, for what felt like the thousandth time, making a mark next to each item he had prepared, packed and ready.  
\- Sleeping bag  
\- Tent with ropes and stakes  
\- Extra rope, just in case  
\- Compass  
\- Pocket knife  
\- Multi-tool  
\- A couple of metal pans for cooking  
\- A single metal bowl with one fork, one knife and one spoon  
\- A map that went a fair ways beyond the valley  
\- First aid kit  
\- A small pouch of coins that Pappa had given him, just in case he needed anything while on the road that required some money  
\- Fishing pole with line and some hooks

Nodding to himself he put the note pad down, quite satisfied. Perhaps he should take a note pad, come to think of it, with a pencil. He quickly added that to his list and grabbed a fresh note pad from his desk with a new pencil and packed them into his backpack.  
He planned to leave in about a week, before summer could hit and make everything too hot to even want to travel any distance.   
He’d already informed most of his friends. Little My had initially wanted to tag along but lost interest when she found out how long he was planning to be gone.   
Sniff had started fretting about all the possible dangers waiting out there and taken to trying to convince him that it was just as much of an adventure copying him and getting a small job in the village just on the outskirts of the valley, but he had relented when Moomin made it clear he was going and nothing he said would change his mind.   
Snorkmaiden had been surprisingly supportive of the whole thing, he had initially worried she’d be angry with him about it, but she seemed at least resigned to it even if she didn’t really understand it. They’d broken up last year, after they had a rather difficult and emotionally charged argument followed by a frank conversation that resulted in them laughing about how tightly they had both been clinging to an idea that didn’t suit either of them.  
This just left Snufkin, who would have usually been the first person Moomin told everything to, but this time he was putting it off.  
You see, with everyone else it was simply informing them of his imminent departure on his journey, but with Snufkin… well, he didn’t want to say goodbye to Snufkin. That had been the only thing that had truly given him pause over this whole plan, the thought that he’d be having to go at least an entire year without Snufkin. For years now they had come to rely on their yearly ritual of Snufkin returning in spring with a song, a gentle summer spent together either alone or in the company of their other friends, and a fall filled with days spent just the two of them enjoying the companionable silence that Moomin seemed to be capable of slipping into with only Snufkin, before they bid farewell for the winter. It was something that hadn’t changed despite anything else that changed as the years marched on.  
Whatever else happened, there would always be _their_ time.   
That couldn’t happen if Moomin left, though, and he’d spent a few nights tossing and turning as his mind raced, until an idea crept up on him.

Moominpappa had spent most of his travels with his friends, and after asking Moominmamma he discovered she had also travelled with friends for a long time, so why couldn’t he also travel with someone?   
Snufkin loved to travel, so Moomin was fairly sure he’d at least be interested in the idea. It wasn’t like those days when they were younger and he had selfishly, childishly asked Snufkin to stay during the winter, or take him with him, with no thought to how Snufkin might feel about it. It would mean they’d be travelling during winter but… they could work something out, he was sure. By then he’d be more used to travelling, so they could always split up and agree to meet somewhere when winter was over, even if the thought filled him with a sense of dread… no use thinking about that now though.  
Now, he had to work up the courage to ask Snufkin to come with him.

* * *

That day Moomin went to join Snufkin on a walk to the beach. They spent some time with the others picking up shells for Snorkmaiden, who had taken to making jewellery out of them, and relaxed on the sand while Little My buried Sniff up to his neck, then did some quiet fishing together on the rocks when the others left. Moomin even convinced Snufkin to join everyone at Moominhouse for supper, helped greatly by the promise of Mamma’s freshly baked bread to go with the fish they had caught.  
As far as Snufkin was concerned, it had been a rather wonderful day.   
Moomin’s demeanor had gotten more anxious as the day progressed, and while he would never think of pressing his friend for details of whatever was bothering him, he’d be a liar if he said he wasn’t concerned. Or perhaps curious. Or just a bit of both.  
After dinner they had taken their fruit-filled pastry desserts, thanked Mamma for a wonderful meal, and returned to Snufkin’s camp to watch the sun go down and the stars make their appearance in the sky.  
He kept stealing a glance at his friend from the corner of his eye, taking note of the way his tail was flicking and he couldn’t keep his paws still. Whatever was bothering him must be tiresome, to have kept him so worked up all day long. Snufkin supposed he was unlikely to learn what it was though, at least not today, it was getting late and they’d both need to retire to sleep soon.

“Snufkin?”  
Or perhaps he would. The tone of Moomin’s voice was the one he always had when he was about to confide in him. Snufkin hummed in response, their usual signal that he was listening but there was no pressure and Moomin could change his mind about whatever he was going to say without worry.  
“I need to ask you something, and I don’t want you to answer me.”  
Snufkin turned to look at Moomin properly, rather confused by the comment.  
“I-I mean I don’t want you to answer me _yet_.”  
“Alright, what is it?”  
“Well. I’m leaving soon. I’m going on a journey, like Pappa. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’ll be gone for… a long time, probably. A year? Give or take. And - well - I was wondering… I’d like to invite you to come with me.”  
Snufkin stared at his dearest friend with what he was sure must be a ridiculous expression on his face. Whatever he had expected, it certainly wasn’t that.   
Before he could say anything Moomin stood up and looked at him with that fond smile he always has and effectively killed anything Snufkin was going to attempt to say.  
“Goodnight Snufkin, when you’ve thought about it and have an answer, just um… sit on our bridge! And then I’ll know to come find out. Night!”  
And with that he had turned and begun a rather brisk walk back to Moominhouse. Snufkin watched him go, and kept watching as the door of Moominhouse closed behind him, and dragged his gaze up to Moomin’s bedroom window when the light turned on, and found himself unable to stop staring even after the light had long gone out. It must have been a long time before his mind decided to work again, because when he looked back at his fire it was nothing but embers.

He watched the orange glow seeping through the cracks in the logs and sticks the heat had made and wondered, just when had everyone grown up?  
It seemed like only yesterday they were going on adventures to slay imaginary beasts, playing games of Tarzan in the forest, and having barely a care in the world for anything other than having fun playing games. He of all people should know that nothing can change its nature, and it is the nature of time itself for things to change. It was easy to fool yourself into thinking nothing changed in Moominvalley, as if the outside world and all the forces it’s subjected to simply skip over the valley and its inhabitants, but that was silly.  
Perhaps then it was in his own nature to bow to the will of change. He’d like to think he already understood everything about his own nature, but he hadn’t anticipated something like this. That Moomin had insisted on giving him time to think about his invitation was endearing, and much appreciated, but honestly Snufkin couldn’t imagine a scenario in which his answer would be no.  
Travelling for a whole year with Moomin would be an abrupt shift in their whole lives, but the alternative was a year in Moominvalley with _no_ Moomin in it and while he did truly love the valley and all the people he found himself close to here, he didn’t return every year for them or for the beautiful serenity of the valley itself.   
He returned for Moomintroll.

At first it was simply curiosity, he’d never met people quite like Moomin and his family before and when Moomintroll had asked him if he was going to come back in the spring that first winter he left he said yes without even thinking about it. Sure, he’d considered just conveniently forgetting all about that and not bothering to come back, but his feet had other ideas and he was back in spring all the same. Then every year since it had been the same, and there was nothing in the world Snufkin would trade for the feeling he got when Moomin came running to greet him.  
As if he could ever stand to have a spring without that. As if he could ever stand to have a year without Moomintroll.  
Snufkin crawled into his tent to sleep thinking of all the very many things about Moominvalley that he couldn’t bear to imagine without Moomin himself being there.

* * *

Moomin woke in the morning feeling exhausted. He hadn’t had the most restful nights sleep. His mind was far too busy fretting over Snufkin’s answer.  
It was the right thing to do to give him as much time as he needed to think about it but it didn’t ease his nerves one bit.  
Looking out of his window he could see Snufkin was already up, wandering around his camp as he often did. He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than if he had still been asleep.

Moomin made his way downstairs for breakfast while stopping at every window that had a view of Snufkin’s camp or the bridge just to check if he was there or not. It was stupid, this was stupid! He had to be patient.  
He tried to remind himself to be patient through his entire breakfast, nibbling on his jam and toast in between glancing out of the window at the bridge. He’d gotten so wrapped up in this odd eat toast - look out of window ritual he had going on he nearly entirely missed the green form of his friend perched on the side of the bridge and did the fastest double-take he had ever done.  
He slurped down the last of his juice and raced out of the door, only remembering to slow his pace to a more neutral walk as he approached the bridge himself.  
“Morning Snufkin.”  
Keep your tone neutral, he told himself, don’t get over excited.  
“Morning Moomintroll.”  
Snufkin nodded his head at him without looking up from his lap, where he was preparing some bait on his fishing hook. Moomin took a seat beside him, letting his legs swing over the edge and doing his best to seem casual. He thought he was doing a good job at it too, until he managed to catch sight of Snufkin’s face as he cast his line. He had that grin on his face that he always had when he was on to him and was merely humoring him. Still, Moomin was determined not to be the one to bring up his invitation, he was going to let Snufkin bring it up on his own time.  
It felt like forever before Snufkin finally spoke.  
“So, I thought about your question.”  
Snufkin didn’t take his eyes off the stream, and Moomin had to really concentrate not to explode from nerves and anticipation.  
“Oh?”  
He could have sworn he heard a very tiny chuckle from Snufkin at that. Mischievous mumrik…  
Snufkin finally turned to look at him and oh, Moomin was fairly sure his heart stopped beating for a second when he saw the soft smile on his face.  
“I’d love to come with you, Moomintroll.”  
That did it.  
Whatever was left of Moomin’s composure was torn down in an instant and he cheered loudly.  
“Oh Snufkin that’s wonderful!”  
He leapt to his feet and only just stopped himself from grabbing hold of his friend and picking him up in a bone-crushing hug.   
“Shall we go plan what time we’ll be leaving?”  
His tail was wagging furiously and he couldn’t stand still if he tried, bouncing from foot to foot on the spot, and thankfully Snufkin took it all in his stride, reeling in his line and falling into step beside him to return to Moominhouse to plan the beginning of their trip.  
Moomin was pretty sure he had never been this excited in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so proud of myself for actually writing more than one chapter.
> 
> Next chapter they actually set off!  
> Just felt like I had to do a bit of setting up first. Things will probably speed up from Chapter 3 onwards too, as the idea is basically throwing them into whatever adventures I manage to think up for them while they're off wandering.
> 
> No idea how many chapters this'll end up having but I do have an ending in mind so it won't be one of those things that's just left going on forever and ever.  
> Already got some of Chapter 3 written so hopefully this bodes well for me actually sticking to it????  
> I hope so.
> 
> Also I'm REALLY BAD at replying to comments because I get stuck on my words but if you leave a comment I guarantee I have read it several times and gotten incredibly emotional about it.


	3. Journeys are begun

The morning they chose to set off turned out to be perfect. Clear skies with a light breeze. It had been a little embarrassing when Mamma had fussed over him, especially in front of Snorkmaiden, Little My and Sniff who had all come to wave them off. Little My in particular had snickered loudly about it.  
Now though they were off, walking side by side in their usual companionable silence. It was just like any other hike they’d gone on, truth be told. He’d expected it to feel different somehow, more ground breaking, but it wasn’t. It was just… nice.

They walked like that for a long time, only stopping briefly to retrieve the sandwiches Mamma had given them for lunch from their packs before continuing on their way. Every now and then Moomin would point out the odd flower or plant, and a couple of times a cloud shaped like something, and everything felt so _normal_. He nearly forgot just how far he planned to go away from home until the pair of them crested a hill and for the first time Moomin looked behind them, back at the valley. From here he could see the whole thing, from the Lonely Mountains far off to the North and the entirety of the forests that surrounded the meadows he knew so well right the way to the ocean to the West.   
He stood there silently, not sure exactly how he felt right at this moment. He wasn’t brought out of his thoughts until he felt a paw on his shoulder.  
“Are you alright?”  
“Yes. Yeah I’m fine, it’s just that this is the furthest I have ever been away from home without Mamma and Pappa.”  
Snufkin very gently squeezed his shoulder, which made him smile.  
“You okay to keep going?”  
Moomin took a deep breath in. If he didn’t have Snufkin with him he may have given up and gone back home at this point, but the feeling of his paw on his shoulder was grounding. There wasn’t anything the world could throw at him that he couldn’t handle with Snufkin by his side.  
“Yep. Let’s go.”

* * *

He really was fine.  
Honestly.  
But it was a relief when they finally stopped to make camp and he had a chance to let his emotions settle down for a bit. Snufkin must have picked up on it because he set about pitching both his own and Moomin’s tent and making a fire pit without saying a word, leaving Moomin to stare into space for a while.

“Right, all done.”  
Snufkin dusted off his paws and his voice dragged Moomin back to reality.  
“Oh. I’m sorry Snufkin, I left you to do everything all by yourself.”  
“It’s no problem, you looked like you needed some time to think.”  
“Yeah, I guess I did.”  
Snufkin sat himself down across from Moomin and lit his pipe, the smell of the smoke a comfort despite how awful it was really.  
So far they had gone directly South, with the intention of getting some distance between themselves and home so they didn’t accidentally circle back. Snufkin had assured Moomin they’d know if they were going in a circle and could correct their direction with no issue, but he’d insisted on it being this way. In truth he just wanted to go as far as they could as quickly as they could so he wouldn’t be tempted to circle back on purpose.  
He frowned to himself. He really could be quite a coward sometimes.  
“Penny for your thoughts?”  
Snufkin was gazing at him through the fog of his pipe smoke.  
“You don’t have a penny.”  
“True. How about a pebble then?”  
He flicked a small pebble toward Moomin that landed by his feet. Moomin giggled.  
“Deal.”  
He picked up the pebble and rolled it in his paws.  
“How many days do you think we should head South before we decide where we’re going next?”  
It wasn’t exactly what had been on his mind, but it was close enough, and he did truly want to know what Snufkin thought.  
“Hmm. How about we say 3 more days South? There’s a tiny village about that far directly South from here, we can stop there and pick a direction.”  
Moomin’s mood immediately brightened, the thought of visiting a place Snufkin had been on his own travels very exciting.  
“Sounds good to me.”

The pair of them enjoyed a quick dinner of snacks before they retired for the night, Moomin a lot more tired than he thought he was, leaving them both feeling fresh enough to continue onwards to the village bright and early.  
The further they got from the valley, the more exciting Moomin found even the smallest of things. He’d seen countless daisies and dandelions back home, but _these_ ones were flowers that had never seen the valley and therefore he deemed them more interesting.  
Snufkin had only laughed, but it was in good nature, and Moomin joined in the laughter as he tucked one dandelion behind his ear and pulled Snufkin’s hat down over his eyes to stick one with the feather in his hat.  
They settled into a rhythm quickly.  
Walking during the day and deciding where and what to eat for lunch as they went, and when it was time to camp Moomin would set up the fire pit, whatever they would need for dinner and collect firewood, while Snufkin pitched their tents.  
Moomin had tried to pitch the tents once, but he was a lot slower at it than Snufkin was and more than once his knots came undone and he had to start again.

They reached the village in four days, not three, due to Moomin becoming distracted by climbing up a small cliff to take in their surroundings which led to them spending several hours perched up there admiring the view.  
Calling it a village was being rather generous really. It was a single larger building that housed a post office, ranger station, small shop that didn’t stock a whole lot and a noticeboard, which was surrounded by a handful of small cottages.  
Moomin loved it.  
He browsed every item in the shop while Snufkin traded a few pears they had for a punnet of cherries and a loaf of bread, then carefully read every single thing pinned to the noticeboard. A very friendly woman who looked a little bit like Sniff but with a shorter snout and smaller ears gave him some copies of ads he was particularly interested in before they moved on to find a suitable spot to camp.  
After dinner he sorted them in order - things that sounded the most interesting on top and going down to the less interesting things at the bottom of the pile.

“These two sound like the most fun!”  
Moomin held up two posters for Snufkin to see, one that detailed a sailing festival in some coastal town and another that advertised a midsummer firework display.  
Snufkin hummed as tried to mentally place the locations in his mind, he knew vaguely where they both were.  
“That coast town is only a week or so Southwest from here, and I think… if we spend only one day there we can make it to that firework display.”  
Snufkin moved to dig out the map Moomin had brought with him as he spoke.  
“Really!?”  
“Yeah, look see,” Snufkin smoothed the map out on the ground in front of them, “we’re here,” he pointed at a spot with nothing really marked, the village apparently not big enough to warrant being put on the map, “the coastal town is here,” he dragged his finger over to the coastline, “then the town that firework display is held at is up here,” he moved his finger up and off the map entirely, tapping at the dirt, “we’ll need a new map if we can find one, if you want to keep navigating by map that is.”  
Moomin had been watching completely enraptured by the whole thing.  
“We can see if anywhere in the coast town has one, and if we can’t find one just go without.”  
Snufkin seemed pleased with that answer, giving him a small smile and folding the map back up.  
Moomin stacked up his collection of posters and tucked them away in his pack, leaning back on it to use it as a pillow as he gazed at the stars above them. He listened to Snufkin settle himself down on the ground close by and couldn’t help smiling to himself.  
Everything was alright, and this was exactly what he needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh lawd there they go!!
> 
> I have at least 13 different ideas for adventures these two idiots can go on, with each probably being their own chapter, so there's that.  
> Lord help me.
> 
> Dunno how long this chapter-a-day thing will last but I'm gonna ride it as long as I can ajknhjbd


	4. Festivals are attended

The coastal town was much busier than either of them had thought it was going to be. Snufkin was initially apprehensive but Moomin’s enthusiasm seemed to rub off on him pretty quickly. The festival itself was held almost entirely on the promenade and small pier, with stalls crammed in wherever they could fit and the beach absolutely packed with people watching the vast array of sailboats floating just offshore or enjoying either sunbathing or splashing in the waves.  
Both of them were incredibly glad they had thought to set up camp before making their way down to the town, navigating the crowds was difficult enough without their backpacks getting in the way as well. Moomin was thoroughly enjoying looking at each and every stall, he checked out the ones covered in souvenirs or crafts first, then briefly looked at a few selling more practical things like sailing tools or fishing tackle. He would have spent longer browsing but he noticed Snufkin hovering behind him looking rather uncomfortable, a glance at his tail confirmed it, seeing it twitch ever so slightly at the tip every time someone brushed past.  
Moomin took hold of his paw, shooting him a reassuring smile when he startled at the touch, before dragging him away to one of the smaller jetties that had far fewer people on it.

The water here was the most beautiful blue-green colour. Moomin couldn’t resist sitting at the end of the jetty and dangling his feet into it. The fact that it was blissfully cool in the warm weather was a bonus. Snufkin sat next to him but tucked his feet up, not really wanting to deal with soggy boots no matter how warm it was.  
“You feeling better?” Moomin nudged his arm gently with his elbow.  
“Yeah. Thanks, by the way.”  
Moomin smiled at him, not that he could really see with his head tilted down and the brim of his hat shielding his face. He seemed to be admiring the sparkle of the sun on the water, and Moomin found himself doing much the same. It looked like diamonds.

“You boys fellow sailors or just enthusiasts?”  
They both glanced up to see an older man with an impressive grey-brown beard smiling at them from a small boat.  
“Kind of sailors!” Moomin called back, thinking of The Adventure back home, “we’re not right now though, just tourists.”  
“Ha! Fair weather sailors then!”   
The man didn’t seem to mean anything by his comment, although Moomin was sure that if Pappa were here he’d be sure to disagree with the observation.  
“Grab this ‘n help tie me off will ya!”  
Moomin had to scramble to grab hold of the rope that was thrown in their direction, the sailor clearly not actually asking whether they would or not. It was no real bother to him, he was quite excited to be chatting to someone new.   
Snufkin helped him tie the rope to a metal loop on the side of the jetty while the small boat drifted to the edge. The man hopped off his boat with all the grace of someone who had been doing so all his life, despite his large size. He was easily a full head taller than Moomin.  
“The name’s Oskar. Captain Oskar if we’re bein’ formal.”  
Moomin happily reached out to shake his hand.  
“I’m Moomintroll, and this is Snufkin.”  
Snufkin tipped his hat once in greeting, “Hullo.”  
“Nice to meet you boys! And cheers for the hand.”  
“It’s no problem, nice to meet you too!”  
Snufkin had relaxed back into silence, leaving Moomin to do all the talking.  
“Do you live here Oskar?”  
Oskar had turned to lean into his boat, shuffling a few things around and slinging a bag over his shoulder.  
“Aye, when I’m not at sea.” Satisfied with whatever he was doing he turned back to Moomin, “Y’enjoying the festival?”  
“Truthfully we only just got here this morning,” Moomin glanced down at Snufkin briefly, “we’re not all that sure what it’s all about either. I just saw an ad for it and here we are.”  
“That so. Well then, allow me to introduce you to the best kept secret in this entire town.”  
Oskar began to stride off up the jetty, and with a nod from Snufkin to show he was happy to go along with it, the two boys followed after him.

Oskar led them past the bustling crowds on the pier and promenade, up a main high street where he waved to several people in various shops, and finally down a small alleyway marked by dozens of small wooden signs. There seemed to be several smaller shops down here, all charming in their own way, and at the end a door wreathed by ivy that was held open by a rock jammed against the door.  
He strode through the entryway with a loud laugh, and Moomin could hear a couple of voices greet him equally as loud. Moomin hovered in the doorway with Snufkin peering over his shoulder.  
It was a small tea room inside, with a few tables decorated in colourful tablecloths and embroidered place settings, an unreasonably large display cabinet full of a vast array of cakes and pastries that sat next to a small counter-top with a till, jar of pennies and a bunch of knick-knacks by the look of it.  
A short, round woman with blonde hair tied up in a bun and covered with a hair net was leaning on it, and a man that looked like a shorter, skinnier version of Oskar with fuzzy ginger hair and a matching moustache sat at a table close by.  
It would have been unnerving to have 3 sets of eyes all look at them at once if it weren’t for the fact they all had an air of friendliness about them.  
“This here is the darling Leigh and her cantankerous stringbean of a husband, Peter, two of my dearest friends.” Oskar gestured to the man and woman with a wide smile, completely ignoring the snort of protest Peter gave him in response to the description he gave of him.  
“Leigh, Peter, this here is Moomintroll and Snufkin, travellers and poor fools who had no idea about your magical tea room.”  
Moomin waved a little sheepishly while Snufkin once again tipped his hat in greeting.  
“Come in boys, come in!” Peter waved his arm in a beckoning gesture at them, “Enjoy some tea and sweets, and try to ignore this great hulking brute.”  
Moomin chuckled at the mock offense Oskar took to the comment.  
“It’s lovely to meet you both, however we don’t have any money so we’ll pass on the tea and sweets.”  
He took a seat at a table close by, Snufkin taking one next to him and leaning forward on the table with his elbows.  
“You most certainly will not.” Leigh had already busied herself filling two kettles full of hot water and placing 5 mugs on a tray.  
“There’s plenty of tea and sweets to go around, if they’re not eaten up they’ll go to waste and I shan’t have it.”   
She glided her way around the two men, who were playfully teasing each other, and set a basket full of different cakes in front of them.  
“Help yourselves,” she smiled at them and quickly retrieved one of the kettles and 3 of the mugs to set out as she joined them at their table, “you can repay me by telling me tales of your travels and saving me from listening to these two old fools parrot away at each other for a while.”  
Neither Oskar or Peter seemed to have heard her comment, too wrapped up in whatever friendly debate they appeared engrossed in, and Moomin couldn’t help a small giggle. Even Snufkin smiled and did his best to hide a snort of laughter.  
Moomin was only too happy to indulge her, despite not having very much in the way of travels to talk about just yet, but he had plenty of adventures from the valley to fill in any gaps and Snufkin joined in with a short tale or two of his own.

* * *

By the time evening rolled around they were waved off with a bag full of pastries and an invitation to return any time they wished. Leigh had told them to return to the promenade to enjoy the evening before they moved on, giving the pair of them a wink neither of them really understood, but they took the advice and Moomin was _so_ glad they did.  
The vast majority of the crowd has dispersed by now, making it much easier to navigate, with just a few people walking up and down and some groups enjoying their chatter sat on the beach, all of the stalls closed for the day, but what really made it wonderful was the _lights_.  
Strings of brightly coloured lights lined the entire promenade and each side of the pier, and paper lanterns of all different colours were hung from almost anywhere it was possible to hang them. The boats still floating in the harbour were all covered in similarly colourful lights or lanterns, the entire place seemed almost magical.  
They both sat on the edge of the promenade wall, their legs dangling down above the beach below them and enjoyed the spectacular view.  
Moomin noticed they’d ended up sat close enough together for their shoulders to occasionally brush against the other, but he had no desire to shift and create some space, so he was intent on enjoying it as long as Snufkin allowed it.  
“You were quite right.”  
Snufkin’s voice was quiet, and sounded light and calm.  
“About what?”  
“This festival being fun.”  
“We didn’t really stay for too much of the festival itself,” Moomin giggled about it, “but it has been wonderful all the same, hasn’t it?”  
“It has.”  
Snufkin was smiling. The quieter atmosphere suited him much better. All the different colours from the lights and lanterns was making a rainbow of glitter on the gentle waves of the ocean, and Moomin could hardly tell that Snufkin’s top was the dark green he knew it to be bathed in all the colours.  
He was so very glad he was here with Snufkin. Getting to see it all had been fantastic, but there was something quietly beautiful about sitting here basking in the serenity of the evening with Snufkin so close beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 might take a day or two longer, I have some art that NEEDS to be finished before I spend more time writing. It's a tragedy tbh. I promise it'll be worth it tho!
> 
> Also - Let The Pining Commence!  
> I didn't write it because a sudden shift of POV for like 2 sentences would've been confusing, but when Moomin took Snufkin's hand he was 100% having a Gay Panic about it.


	5. Ghosts are met

The trail to the town that was to hold the fireworks display was a long one, and led the pair of travellers through a deep forest before they would need to cross a mountain range. Forest walking was nothing new to either of them, but Moomin was completely enamoured with the magic of walking through one so deep that he had never seen before.  
The trees were incredibly tall, so tall that in some places hardly any light at all managed to break through the canopy to the forest floor. As much as he would have loved to spend longer appreciating it, Snufkin was pressing them onwards.  
“Would it be so bad to slow down a bit Snufkin? We could always just walk a bit later on to make up the time.”  
Moomin knew his voice was a little bit whiny and mentally scolded himself for it, even though Snufkin didn’t seem bothered by it one way or another.  
“No, we have to break through the trees before sunset, it shouldn’t be long now.”  
“Why the rush to get out from under the trees? You usually prefer to be _in_ forests.”  
“Yes,” Snufkin didn’t slow his pace, but did look back at Moomin over his shoulder and pointed at his own face, “but even my night-eyes won’t be great with such thick cover, and you’d be practically blind.”  
He turned his head back to see where he was going before he continued, “it’ll get too dark very quickly in here once we begin to lose the light.”  
“Oh.”  
Moomin hadn’t thought of that.  
He was so used to the forests of home that he knew so well, he felt like he could probably navigate them blindfolded by now, that it never even occurred to him that trying to navigate a strange forest that was pitch-black would be a bad idea.  
He wandered along behind Snufkin taking in as much of the forest as he could before they were out of it again, he was so busy gazing around he didn’t notice that Snufkin had stopped and bumped right into him.  
“Snufkin?”  
His friend was staring off to their left with his head tilted.  
Following his line of sight it took Moomin a few seconds to see what had drawn his attention so thoroughly, but once he did he gasped in excitement.

Not too far off, just visible through the thinning trees was the remains of a wrought iron fence. Not very exciting on its own, but beyond it they could see walls. Not sturdy, straight walls that were taken care of - old walls. Covered in moss and lichen, bits of weeds growing through the many cracks and wrapping around the crumbling stone. If it weren’t so big it would be nearly invisible, covered in as much greenery as it was.  
Both of them stood transfixed for a minute, the feeling of curiosity bubbling between them.  
“It’s not under the tree cover…” Moomin grinned at Snufkin as he looked at him sideways, “we can totally manage in the dark there, right?”  
Snufkin grinned back at him, that twinkle in his eye he gets when they find something _really_ interesting, and without saying a word he began walking in the direction of the ruins, earning a quiet “Yes!” from Moomin.

They had to skirt the old fence for a while, it was old but still pretty strong. The parts of the perimeter that had been stone wall hadn’t fared quite so well over time and had crumbled more than enough for them to climb over quite easily.  
What was on the other side was more breath-taking than either of them could have ever hoped for.  
There was an overgrown area that they assumed had once been immaculately manicured grounds, before the stony skeleton of an immense castle sat shadowed by the mountain.  
No upper floors had survived the test of time, large piles of rubble marking where they had fallen, but what had been the ground floor - what was not covered in rubble - still had plenty to explore.  
Both of them itched to go exploring immediately, but begrudgingly decided to set up their camp first.  
“We should make camp in the grounds.”  
Moomin was still mostly staring at the ruined castle, but was making an effort to pick out a decent spot.  
“Agreed.”  
Snufkin was doing better at keeping his attention on the job in paw, scraping the ground with his boot to be quite sure there was no old bits of broken glass from the windows had made its way here. Dealing with a glass cut would be awful way out here.  
“It feels like it would be rude somehow, for anyone to try camping inside the ruins.” Moomin had started picking up some firewood, despite not being able to tear his eyes away from the castle for very long. “Kind of like camping in someone’s home.”  
Snufkin thought briefly of his father and their shared disregard for private property and chose not to reply.

Their camp was a little more haphazard than usual, partly because of a distracted Moomin and partly due to the overgrown mess of the castle grounds making it difficult to clear too much space, but it was good enough for them.  
The sun was beginning to set by the time they sat down for their evening meal. A nice fresh soup to use up the last of the bread they had.  
“Have you been here before Snuf?”  
“No, I’m pretty sure this is Oldstone Castle, I’ve heard about it before but never seen it.”  
The knowledge that even Snufkin had never explored this place before made Moomin perk up in surprise.  
“Oldstone Castle… What have you heard about it?”  
“That Oldstone probably isn’t it’s proper name, but it’s been abandoned so long no one knows what it’s real name is any more. Hence the name Oldstone.”  
“Wow, it must be really old then.”  
“Really, really old. It’s supposedly haunted too.”  
“Haunted?”  
“Hm. No one can agree what it’s haunted by though. Some stories say it’s an old king, others a lonely maiden, and a few say it’s an angry caretaker.”  
“Huh. I wonder which it is, do you think we’ll see the ghost if we go exploring when it’s dark?”  
“Don’t know, maybe. You moomins seem to have a habit of making friends of ghosts.”  
They both giggled a bit.  
“I hope we do meet the ghost.”  
Snufkin raised an eyebrow at Moomin’s comment with a smile on his face.  
“And that they’re friendly.”  
Moomin added upon seeing the look Snufkin was giving him.

* * *

Neither of the boys could resist beginning their exploration as soon as they finished their food, a bright moon with no cloud cover meaning Moomin didn’t need to waste any lantern oil and could navigate well enough without tripping over too much. Snufkin had tried to talk him into bringing it along just in case, but ghosts didn’t tend to like lights overly much.  
“You can always be my eyes, right?”  
Moomin joked, and Snufkin relented.  
It really was a beautiful night, it would be a shame to spoil it with lights.

There wasn’t much left to see, if trinkets were the kind of thing that interested anyone digging through the ruins. It seemed like they had all long since been destroyed or taken by others who had gotten here first. Snufkin managed to dig up some old bits and pieces though. They weren’t valuable, and all were broken in some way - part of an old door handle, what looked like part of some kind of ornate light fixture, scraps of random fabrics.  
They both found it all incredibly fascinating.  
Making their way through the broken outlines of various rooms they came upon a much bigger area, Snufkin scraped away at the ground with his boots and stamped about gently, finding the floor had once been covered in wooden planks. Judging by the size of the room, probably a grand ballroom.  
“Imagine how beautiful this place must have been…” Moomin whispered in awe, taking in the impressive dimensions. It didn’t look like there were any remnants of an upper floor here.  
“Do you think it was very tall too?”  
He looked back at Snufkin who was admiring part of the wall that remained standing.  
“Maybe so. Some of these bits of stone could have been pillars at some point, which would suggest it was tall I suppose.”  
“Wow…”  
As he turned back to the expanse of the ballroom Moomin’s eyes caught some movement. He blinked a couple of times, just to be sure. He didn’t have night eyes at all, not like Snufkin did, so seeing movement in the distance in the dark was not something he was used to.  
But a figure drifted out from behind some of the rubble, spinning in circles with their arms spread out to their sides, and it made sense then.  
The figure was glowing gently.  
 _”Snufkin!!”_ he hissed as quietly as he could, drawing his friend’s attention to the ghostly figure.  
“Well I’ll be. You moomins do attract ghosts.” he whispered in reply as he joined Moomin at his side.  
Moomin glanced at him and they came to a silent agreement to approach.

The figure continued their dancing, seemingly entirely oblivious to the two boys even when they were as close as they felt comfortable getting.  
From here they could see the ghost took the form of a woman, mostly human-looking were it not for a small pair of rounded antlers that peeked out from beneath her hair, which was long and flowed around her in much the same way as her dress did. The dress appeared tattered and torn, and she wore no shoes.  
Moomin supposed a ghost had no need for shoes.  
She continued her spinning, circling both of them gracefully which made both their tails fluff up slightly in surprise.  
“Are you here for the dancing too?” She didn’t look at them when she spoke, and her voice sounded both far away and very close at the same time. Snufkin’s ears twitched, not used to that and not at all sure he liked it.  
“Um. Not really, just looking around.”  
Moomin replied to her, able to see that she looked like she was dancing with a partner the way her arms were positioned, but there was no other ghost.  
“The castle is beautiful indeed, but _Oh! The dancing!_ ”  
Her pace picked up, moving a bit further away from the pair.

Deciding that this particular ghost was likely harmless, Moomin chose to try some conversation.  
“Do you live here, miss ...uhh?”  
The ghost finally opened her eyes to look at Moomin with a smile, and he was a little surprised to see that they looked normal. He half expected them to be glowing or something.  
“Oh, it would be wonderful to live here! If only I should be allowed!”   
Whatever invisible partner she had been dancing with seemed to be forgotten, as she clutched both her hands to her chest.  
“How rude of me, do excuse my behaviour. My name is Jenni, gentlemen.”  
She finally stopped her dancing and spinning, which they were both thankful for because much more and they’d be going dizzy trying to keep up with her, and curtseyed to them.  
Neither of them were quite sure why, but it seemed only polite to return the gesture so they both gave a little bow.  
“My name is Moomintroll.”  
“And mine Snufkin.”  
“It’s nice to meet you Jenni.”  
Jenni giggled at them and went back to drifting across the ballroom floor.

Snufkin got an idea, and put his paw on Moomin’s shoulder to indicate him to move towards the outer perimeter of the room.  
“Won’t you join us for a sit, Jenni?”  
Her attention was back on them in an instant, a beaming smile on her face.  
“Oh, that would be delightful!”  
The two boys perched themselves on a large piece of broken stone, and Jenni sat across from them. She seemed to also be sitting on a piece of the ruined stone, but until that point she had been moving as if she hadn’t been aware they were even there.  
She sighed dreamily and looked around as if taking in the room.  
“This place is my favourite, it’s so beautiful.”  
Moomin and Snufkin both looked around too, although they saw only ruins they agreed it was beautiful.  
“How long have you been here Jenni?”  
Moomin jumped at the chance to learn more about her, and perhaps the castle too.  
“Oh, so very long and not long at all.”  
That was confusing.  
Moomin looked at Snufkin but he looked equally confused.  
“We only arrived this afternoon.”  
Moomin tried to keep the subject alive, in hopes that she would make sense eventually.  
“Oh how dreadful! You’ve missed so much.”  
Jenni seemed quite upset for them, but they were still at a complete loss. Moomin was going to try again but she spoke up again.  
“Perhaps some day you could join my friends?” She smiled at them again, in a pitying sort of way.  
“They are all ever so wonderful.”  
She was looking back at the ballroom now, as if watching the friends she mentioned, but still neither Moomin nor Snufkin could see anyone else.  
“We are travellers by nature, we can’t stay in one place too long.”  
Moomin looked at Snufkin quizzically, not expecting his comment. He gave Moomin an odd look, one that seemed cautious, and Moomin chose to remain quiet.   
“Oh, that’s a shame to hear but I understand.”  
Jenni kept her gaze fixed on whatever it was she was seeing that the boys could not, her voice tinged with sadness.  
“I once travelled. Far and wide. Before I was called to return here, to dance with my friends.”  
Her tone became more cheerful again, almost wistful.  
“What called you to return?” Moomin asked while looking at Snufkin, just to make sure the mumrik wasn’t still unsure about the conversation, but he had relaxed again.  
Jenni sighed.  
“People do not always take to travellers.”  
“No, they can be rather rude.” Snufkin mumbled more than anything, but was heard by both Moomin and Jenni all the same.  
“You have received their ire as well? I’m sorry.”  
Jenni brought her attention back to them as she spoke.  
“I was chased and shouted at, such awful things! They said terrible things about my friends too. It was dreadful. Then the bright light on the horizon heralded my destination, my salvation! This beautiful castle that I love ever so much.”  
“I’m sorry Jenni.”  
Moomin felt bad for her, it sounded like she had had a very unpleasant experience. Snufkin looked like he was wracking his brain after her comment, before he let out a very quiet “Oh.” and his expression changed to surprise.  
Moomin would ask him later.  
“Jenni, what is this castle called?”  
She giggled at Moomin’s question as if he was being very silly.  
“Surely you saw it on your way through the gates!”  
Had she been a living being, the way she leapt up from her seated position would have surely made the ground vibrate with the sheer force of it, but as it was the movement was just slightly jarring.  
“The music is far too wonderful to sit any longer, don’t you agree?”  
And with that she was back to dancing, moving this way and that as if choosing a partner from multiple hands all extending her an offer.  
All at once the pair realized how late it had gotten, they really did need to get back to their tents and get some sleep. Getting to their feet they began their walk back the way they came, but Jenni’s voice interrupted them.  
“Oh do join the dance! Won’t you? It’s simply wonderful.”  
Moomin exchanged a look with Snufkin, who seemed quite prepared to just decline the request, but Moomin got an idea.  
“Oh, just one then.”  
Snufkin shot him a very confused look, which only got worse when Moomin took his paws in his own and started gently leading them in a very awkward, very stumbling imitation of dancing. Jenni exclaimed her delight, but they didn’t really hear what she said, she had begun slowly becoming more transparent as she moved, before coming back to the way she was before for a few steps and then repeating the process.  
Moomin danced Snufkin closer to the area they had come through, and inclined his head at their path when they got close enough. Snufkin still looked confused, in the low light Moomin couldn’t actually see his face at all now he’d tilted his head down, but he assumed confusion from the slightly stiff posture he had.  
Moomin only let go of one of Snufkin’s paws, with the moon having moved across the sky quite a ways it was significantly darker on the way back.  
A glance over his shoulder revealed no sight of Jenni any more.

As they walked back to their camp, Moomin looked at the ruins again with a hint of sadness he hadn’t really learned anything from Jenni.  
“When Jenni was speaking about people not liking travellers, you looked like you thought of something.”  
Snufkin glanced at him.  
“I did.”  
“Was it about Jenni? Or the castle?”  
“I heard a tale, well, more like a legend I suppose, of a maiden who had been the lover of several others who had all met tragic fates. Supposedly out of jealousy, the legend said some lord or prince or some such sort wanted her to be his wife, but she didn’t want to settle in his kingdom. Or town. Or manor house. It depends on the version really, but what doesn’t change is how she loved a great castle more than any person, a place she returned to year after year for balls and dances and parties.”  
Moomin’s ears were perked as high up as they possibly could be, and he looked around at the crumbling remains of the structure they were walking through.  
“One year, when the jealous man’s entourage had been hounding her for as long as they could as she travelled, she returned to the castle to find it burning. He and his people had set fire to it, insisting that now she had no reason to refuse him.”  
“How awful!”  
“Yes. She wouldn’t have it though. She walked right into the burning castle and never came back out.”  
“Oh… That’s sad.”  
“Yes. It is.”  
“Do you think that maiden was Jenni?”  
“It certainly matches, doesn’t it? Did you notice her dress? It was all in tatters, like it had been burned or ripped.”  
They arrived at their camp, Moomin gazing back at the castle sadly.  
“Who owned the castle?”  
“Don’t know. The stories say it had been passed between different kings, kind of like a bargaining tool.”  
Moomin’s ears drooped a little. The whole thing was very sad.  
“Don’t feel too bad, my friend.”  
Snufkin’s voice brought his attention back from his dreary thoughts.  
“If Jenni is that maiden, and this is that castle, then she seemed quite happy now.”  
“I suppose she did.”  
“The friends she referred to are probably the people she lost to the jealous lord, so they’re all together now in the castle she loved so much.”  
Moomin hummed gently, Snufkin was so very good at cheering him up.  
“I hope the jealous lord felt awful.”  
Snufkin laughed quietly.  
“Me too, Moomin. Me too. Get some sleep, we’ve been up far too late.”  
Snufkin crawled inside his own tent and left Moomin to make his way into his, after sparing one last look at the castle as it was bathed in the remaining moonlight.  
“Goodnight Jenni.” He whispered, knowing she wouldn’t hear him but feeling like he should anyway, “Goodnight Snufkin.” He added, loud enough for his friend to hear.  
“G’night Moomin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire chapter is inspired by the song "Jenny of Oldstones" by Florence + The Machine from Game of Thrones season 8.  
> That last season sucked, but this song is incredible.  
> (Thrones spoilers in the video, for those that want to avoid them - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTa1jHk1Lxc )
> 
> Sorry it got sad???  
> The song is kind of sad too, and it just kind of happened.  
> The story Snufkin retells is entirely made up, so any similarity to anything is entirely accidental.
> 
> Y'all ready for some ANGST and PINING next chapter? Because that's what you're getting. I apologize in advance. It'll possibly be shorter though, so there's that?


	6. Arguments are had

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm so fucking sorry

Their little late night adventure in the castle ruins delayed them quite a bit more than either of them anticipated. Even Snufkin slept in later than normal and it took them both longer than usual to get themselves going when they did wake up.  
The trail up the mountain was easy going for only about half a mile before it started going up and down quite steeply, in places incredibly rocky and they had to watch their step carefully.  
As they walked, the sky became overcast and Snufkin could smell rain in the air, and when they stopped for a late lunch he watched the sky carefully. He knew all too well how quickly a rain storm could bubble up while in the mountains, and how dangerous they could be, but without being able to see the horizon or even really tell which way the wind was blowing it was difficult to tell if they were likely to see rain before nightfall.  
They were technically behind schedule, Moomin seemed so excited to explore the town they were heading to and it would be nice to rest and recoup some of their energy and supplies before moving on, but was it worth risking getting caught in a mountain storm?  
On his own he’d just wing it, but he was much less willing to consider putting Moomin in danger as well.  
“Looks like we might be in for some rain.”  
Moomin glanced skyward at Snufkin’s comment, though he looked a lot less concerned than Snufkin himself was feeling.  
“Maybe. It’d be nice if it would clear the air a bit, my fur is feeling sticky.”  
Moomin frowned at his own arm and rubbed it with a paw.  
Snufkin couldn’t help a small smile.  
This was Moomin’s trip, perhaps he should leave the choice up to him.  
“Rain can be dangerous in the mountains, think we should move on or stay put ‘til tomorrow?”  
Moomin hummed as he considered Snufkin’s question, looking at the sky with one paw on his chin. If he was wearing a top hat he’d look just like Moominpappa, and Snufkin found it incredibly amusing.  
“Move on. It’d be a waste to stay here only for it to be a tiny shower, or not rain at all.”  
Snufkin nodded, a silent agreement. He’d travelled in the mountains during storms before, he had plenty of experience keeping safe. They’d be fine, find another campsite further along the trail or a cave for shelter, and keep up their pace.

* * *

Continuing on up the trail, the further they went the more unsettled Snufkin was feeling. Like a bad feeling all the way up his spine. Joxter would call it a foreboding, but Snufkin tended to think his father’s forebodings were a whole lot of nonsense. He’d once declared a foreboding that turned out to be nothing more than Moominmamma catching him napping on top of her kitchen cabinets and telling him off.  
It was far more likely, as far as Snufkin was concerned, that there was a change in air pressure as the storm got closer that he was feeling.  
Casting another uneasy glance at the sky confirmed the clouds had only gotten darker and more angry looking since the last time he looked, just a few minutes ago.  
He watched Moomin’s back as they walked, keeping a keen eye on his friend’s footing, this trail much too narrow for Snufkin’s nerves to calm down any time soon. He’d much prefer if it was wide enough for them to walk side by side, so he could make sure Moomin stayed on the side _away_ from the cliff edge.

There was an increase in the wind, followed by what Snufkin was sure was a faint rumble of thunder. His tail fluffed up quite without his permission, and the first few drops of rain began to fall as if to mock him.  
“Drat.”  
His eyes snapped to his friend’s form when Moomin let out the least offensive curse he could think of, usually his restraint would be appreciated by the mumrik as he quite detested cursing, but right at this minute he’d quite like to let out some much stronger curses of his own.  
Instead he opted for scanning the rocks, looking for a traveller’s mark as they walked on.  
Thank the stars, he found one.  
“Moomin! There’s a cave about a mile further along, we should get there and hunker down.”  
His companion turned to look at him with a confused expression on his face.  
“There is? How d’you know?”  
Snufkin pointed at the symbols scratched into the rock face. The top half of a circle with an arrow beneath it pointing the same direction they were going, and below that ‘1 Mi’.  
“What’s that?”  
“Traveller’s mark. Kind of like… a language. So other travellers know what’s coming up, the half circle means a cave.”  
Snufkin ushered Moomin onwards as he explained, not willing to waste time finding shelter.  
“What are the other ones?”  
“A triangle is a campsite, a square with no top is a gratuity box, a full square is a cabin or ranger station or hostel, an X means too dangerous to pass, and a full circle means some kind of town or village.”  
“Huh. That’s neat. And the arrows show which direction the things are in?”  
“That’s right.”  
“And the 1 Mi, stands for 1 mile?”  
“Yep.”  
“Clever!”  
The discussion did very little to quell Snufkin’s worry, although he was glad it successfully distracted Moomin. He’d feel a lot better when they got to that cave, a mile never seemed so very long before. He could only hope the rain would hold off on coming down any stronger until they made it.

* * *

Snufkin’s tail swished angrily. Of course the rain wouldn’t wait until they were safe inside the cave before it chose to evolve into a downpour.  
They were at least close, the last mark had said it was only a little further. It couldn’t come soon enough.  
The rain was hammering down almost painfully, and it had made the already precarious trail slippery and was causing much of the loose gravel and stones to shift dangerously.  
Moomin was still ahead of him, looking thoroughly soaked and his feet had stumbled a couple of times already, causing Snufkin’s already frayed nerves to suffer more.  
“I think I see it!”  
Snufkin did his best to look past Moomin, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that they had in fact made it. Moomin tried to quicken his pace slightly, with Snufkin following suit in his eagerness to be out of the rain, leaving no time for either of them to rethink the action.  
It happened incredibly quickly.  
They approached the entrance to the cave, barely registering the ground was more slippery than the trail had been with a layer of now sodden mud underfoot, their haste causing Moomin to lose his footing entirely. He slipped much too close to the edge for comfort, landing painfully on his elbow and making it difficult to pick himself up.  
Terror shot through Snufkin as he lunged forward to grab Moomin, both of them scrambling backwards into the mouth of their cave sanctuary.

They were both panting heavily, eyes wide as their minds tried to catch up with what nearly happened just then.  
“That was close!”  
Moomin gasped, trying to rid himself of some of his nerves, his voice coming out with a slight laugh.  
“You think!?”  
Snufkin was still in a slight panic, his tail lashing side to side.  
Moomin turned to look at him, attempting a smile.  
“Hey, it turned out fine, right?” Moomin attempted to calm his friend, which failed quite spectacularly when he winced as he sat up, “Ow…”  
Snufkin was still glaring, his wide eyes trailing to Moomin’s injured elbow where a tiny patch of red was beginning to stain his white fur from the graze he had received from the ground.  
Without a word Snufkin dropped his pack and dug out their first aid kit, crouching down next to Moomin and grabbing his arm to see to the wound.  
“It’s alright Snuf…”  
“No it isn’t. You want it to get infected? No. I need to clean it.”  
His tail was still flicking in agitation, his heartbeat feeling like it hadn’t yet slowed back down from the shock of Moomin’s fall.  
“Okay, okay…”  
He was aware he’d been short, but Moomin’s reply only frustrated him more. Did he even realize how close he had come to-!  
Snufkin finished cleaning it and wrapped it in a bandage a little rougher than he really needed to. He didn’t mean to be like this, he was just…  
“Ow, jeez Snufkin!”  
Moomin pulled at his arm as Snufkin finished wrapping the bandage, earning an angry glare from the mumrik.  
“Well it wouldn’t hurt if you kept your arm still.”  
“It will if you keep going like that!”  
Snufkin tied off the bandage and released Moomin’s arm, standing up and shoving the kit back in his bag.  
“You should watch where you’re stepping, especially in the rain on a mountain!”  
Moomin let out an indignant huff as he watched Snufkin prepare a fire, with much more of an attitude than Moomin thought was necessary.  
“Yeah because I meant to slip and nearly fall of a mountain, thanks!”  
“It’s not a joke!”  
“It’s not my fault either!”  
“Don’t yell!”  
“You’re the one being touchy!”  
Snufkin scoffed, a sound more like a small growl than anything else, as he angrily snapped some twigs and knelt down to light the tinder he’d thrown in the circle of stones that marked a fire pit. The flames that snaked around his little pile did little to ease the atmosphere between them.  
“I knew we should have just stayed at the campsite.”  
Snufkin went digging through a pile of logs and sticks that had been left by previous occupants for the fire, as Moomin glared at him incredulously.  
“Oh really?”  
“Yes really!”  
He threw the wood he’d chosen in a pile, shoving a couple into the flames to light properly. Moomin was glaring at him angrily and he glared back, irritated to the bone with the whole thing.  
“It was stupid to try beating the weather. We should have just stayed put.”  
“If it was so stupid why didn’t you say so back then?”  
“You decided to keep moving!”  
“And you agreed to keep moving!”  
“I never said ‘yes Moomin I agree let’s keep walking through a mountain trail in the rain’!”  
“You never said not to either! If it was _such_ a terrible idea why didn’t you just damn well say!?”  
“Because! And don’t swear at me!”  
“Oh shove it will you!”  
Snufkin shot up and stalked to the mouth of the cave, pacing irritably.  
Moomin rolled his eyes, completely at a loss for what had set Snufkin off like this.  
“Don’t tell me you’re gonna go walk about in the rain in a mood.”  
Moomin mumbled his jibe, but Snufkin heard it.  
“Of course not!”

Moomin shuffled and stared at the fire, while Snufkin stood where he was glaring at the rain that managed to blow far enough into the mouth of the cave to land on his boots.  
His twitching tail was beginning to get on his nerves, so Snufkin grabbed it and attempted to smooth down the sodden fur. He really did dislike how it puffed up when he was alarmed.  
Eventually he wandered back to the fire, falling down to the ground in a sit with his legs crossed, pointedly _not_ looking at Moomin.

When he braved a glance at his friend he immediately regretted it.  
Moomin looked miserable.  
Snufkin felt awful. He’d been very unfair. It wasn’t Moomin’s fault he slipped, and he had plenty of opportunities to advise they turn back before the weather had turned.  
He felt every ounce of frustration disappear almost in an instant, replaced by guilt.  
Snufkin poked at the fire with a stick.  
“M’sorry.”  
Moomin looked up at him, although he was staring intently at the fire.  
“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to yell.”  
Moomin sounded so sad and Snufkin felt like the worst person in the world.  
“You have nothing to be sorry for, you didn’t do anything wrong. I…” Snufkin paused, chancing a look at his dearest friend’s face, “I didn’t mean… any of that. I was just -” he waved a paw about in the air quite pathetically.  
“I know Snuf, it’s okay.”  
“It’s not okay.”  
“Don’t start another argument!” Moomin’s tone was light and joking, but Snufkin didn’t feel like laughing and joking, so he just looked at him sadly.  
Moomin’s face softened.  
“I forgive you, okay?”  
Snufkin nodded, still feeling rotten.  
He glanced at Moomin’s bag, leaning against the wall of the cave beside the troll.  
“D’you want something to eat?”  
Moomin shook his head.  
“No, thanks. I rather think I might throw up if I try eating after all that.”  
Snufkin hummed gently, quite agreeing with the sentiment.  
“Get some rest, we’re gonna be here for a while now.”  
He watched as Moomin nodded, settling himself down with his chin on his arms and closing his eyes.

* * *

Snufkin was glaring at the rain still beating down on everything outside the safety of the cave, the light long since gone and the scene outside lit only by the occasional flash of lightning.  
Nature would do as it pleased regardless of what any young mumrik wished, but he was still feeling on edge from the fright he had earlier.

He looked at Moomin’s sleeping form, feeling a little calmer when he watched him. As long as he avoided lingering on the bandage wrapped around his elbow for too long.  
Perhaps agreeing to come on this trip had been a bad idea after all.  
Back in the valley, it was easy to ignore his emotions. Every time he felt it bubbling up and becoming impossible to keep hidden, he could just wander off for a few days and be on his own until he calmed down. Spend his time reminding himself of every reason that his feelings were illogical.  
And it worked, for the most part. It had been getting steadily more difficult, but it was manageable.  
Out here though? Spending every day in close proximity to Moomintroll, and _only_ Moomintroll? By the stars it was hard to distract himself from how much he loved him.

It could never work. He was fully aware how difficult he could be, and his outburst this evening had only reminded himself of that, but sitting here watching Moomin sleep peacefully he would give anything to curl up next to him and bury his face in his fur.  
Moomin was such a beacon of positivity, not only in his life but in the life of everyone he met. He was kind and good, friendly and open, while Snufkin? He was flighty and particular. Constantly needing random bouts of time alone and finding himself irritated by stupid things like one too many people being in his immediate vicinity.  
Moomin deserved someone who could give him the world.  
Snufkin didn’t have the world to offer.  
Some day, someone would come along who could give Moomin all the love he deserved and more, give him a picture-book house with a perfect garden, go with him to parties and not leave halfway through because it all got too much, and they’d get married and have children and Moomin would be happy.  
And Snufkin would learn to live with it and be content.  
He couldn’t give him any of that. He hated the idea of a picture-perfect house with a tended garden, he’d never be able to spend an entire night at the centre of a party, and the thought of being married still terrified him, and he didn’t even _want_ to think about children.

He wiped at his face with the back of a paw, noticing his face was wet. Strange. He thought his hair had dried out by now.  
Running a paw through it he realized it wasn’t his hair at all, it was tears.  
Oh.  
He sighed deeply.  
This was doing no one any good, he was being foolish. Incredibly foolish.  
He crawled over to Moomin’s bag, gently pulling the blanket out of it and draping it over his sleeping friend. His fur looked dry enough now to not make the blanket uncomfortable.  
Quietly pulling his own from his bag, Snufkin chose to curl himself up next to Moomin, close to his head and putting his own body firmly between his friend and the storm that nearly shattered his entire heart.  
Snufkin laid his head down on his arms and gazed sleepily at Moomin’s face. He really was very handsome, and incredibly cute, especially when he was sleeping like this. This close he could see the fur of his snout shimmer with the flickering light from the fire. Like glitter. It was beautiful. He wished he could kiss him, or even just nuzzle his nose against his like moomin’s tend to kiss.  
That wasn’t a privilege he had though, nor would he ever have it.  
At the very least, he was lucky enough to be able to sleep so close to him, that would have to do. It’s not the first time Snufkin has had to make do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear this is like... the worst it'll be for these two arguing. this is it. i promise and you can come for my kneecaps if i go back on that.
> 
> y'alls comments have been giving me life and if you commented i would take a bullet for you.
> 
> is this easy to follow, btw?  
> it's been... a long ass time since i wrote properly so if you have some concrit for me i'm all ears. i won't be offended i promise.


	7. Fireworks are watched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yip yip.

The next two days of mountain travel passed with no further incidents, much to the relief of both Moomin and Snufkin. Snufkin didn’t think his heart could take any further scares, and Moomin had no desire to repeat the experience of nearly falling to his death.  
Currently, they were making their way into a marked campsite in the late afternoon. Moomin thought they were going to pass through, casting Snufkin a confused glance when he set his pack down and stretched out his back.  
“We’re stopping here?”  
Snufkin hummed an affirmative, nodding his head. If he were being honest, he was rather tired and the bandage around his elbow was itching unbelievably badly. Fur and bandages were uncomfortable at the best of times, but in the heat of summer it was becoming unbearable. That storm hadn’t really done anything to clear the air, feeling just as warm and soupy as before.  
Dropping his own pack next to Snufkin’s he began his search for decent fire wood, thankful that now the trail had dropped down significantly there was much more tree cover that offered plenty of useable sticks. The piles left behind at other stops were nice, but Moomin felt awfully guilty using any of it without leaving some behind, despite Snufkin’s assurances that it was fine and anyone travelling the trail would expect it to be used.  
His parents had always raised him to give as much as you take, at the very least, and the feeling of it being wrong not to leave something behind gnawed at him every single time.

Sitting himself down in front of the marked out fire pit Moomin watched Snufkin as he put up their tents, whistling to himself as he worked. He was such a musical creature, despite how much he valued silence and quiet, and his tunes never failed to bring a smile to Moomin’s face.  
It never took Snufkin long to finish up, and he was soon laying flat on his back next to Moomin enjoying the shade the mountain and trees offered over the little camp.  
“How come we stopped early tonight? Not that my feet are complaining about the rest.”  
Snufkin chuckled at that, Moomin loved when he made his friend laugh.  
“The town is just through these woods, stopping here means we’ll make it there at noon tomorrow. Gives us plenty of time to find somewhere to stay and take it all in.”  
“How do you always manage to sound so smart?”  
Moomin was grinning, excited at the prospect of getting to explore a new town tomorrow.  
Snufkin winked at him and put his hat over his face. Moomin rolled his eyes but laughed.

* * *

Snufkin had been partially right, they reached the town just before noon, and Moomin couldn’t resist teasing him just a bit.   
“Well, I don’t know if I can quite trust your judgement now, having been so terribly incorrect about our projected arrival time.”  
“Oh stop it, you great fluffy oaf.”  
Moomin giggled when Snufkin shoved his shoulder playfully, he was doing his best to hide the smile on his face under his hat but Moomin saw it.  
“An inn does sound nice though, I’m not quite as fluffy as usual…”  
Moomin gestured to himself, his fur a bit more dishevelled than it had been in a long time, clumps of mud still caked in the fur around his feet.  
“Right, this way then.”

Snufkin ducked down an alley, then another, effectively taking a shortcut back to the edge of town. At first Moomin assumed he’d been here before and knew where he was going, but a couple of pauses to choose which path to take and one dead-end tipped him off that he did not really know where he was going beyond not the town centre.  
Moomin didn’t really mind. It was interesting getting to see all the little passages. They did eventually find their way out of the maze of back streets and onto a bigger road, and a short walk along that brought them to a pleasant looking inn that seemed nice and peaceful.  
An older man with a grey mustache greeted them as they walked in.  
“Welcome, welcome, make yourselves comfortable!”  
Moomin and Snufkin both thanked him at the same time, which made him huff out a laugh.  
“Do you happen to have any rooms for rent?”  
The man nodded.  
“Got a few left, couple a’ smaller ones down here and just one upstairs with an en suite bath.”  
Moomin’s ears pricked up at the mention of a bath.  
“How much for that upstairs one?”  
“2 Crowns a night.”  
Moomin was incredibly grateful for the coins his parents sent him off with, and happily dug out 2 Crowns. Snufkin was watching with a weird grin on his face, as if it was incredibly amusing.  
“Here’s your key,” the man slid a silver key across the bar with a leather tassel tied to it, “up the stairs, last door on the left. Number 4. Help yourselves to the bath, if you need anything pop back down, and don’t lose the key.”  
Moomin took the key and waved his thanks, the pair of them making their way to their room.

“You know, we could probably have got it cheaper if we bartered a bit. Or for free.”  
Snufkin whispered in Moomin’s ear as they wandered down the corridor, earning a good natured frown.  
“Or we could pay him with the coins we don’t need otherwise and I won’t feel bad the whole time.”  
Snufkin laughed.  
“This is the one!”  
Moomin stepped into the room and was immediately in love with it. It wasn’t very big, just a double bed, a chest of drawers and a desk with a chair by the window. It was nice and homely though, it felt comfortable. He peeked into the bathroom, also not very big with just a tub, sink and toilet, but plenty for the two of them.  
“You mind if I grab the bath first?”  
Moomin clutched his own chest and faked a collapse to the floor.  
“Snufkin, not putting off a bath!?”  
“Oh shush, unlike some of us I don’t have fur covering my entire body and need to wash clothes,” he stepped over Moomin who was still sitting on the floor giggling to himself, “and clothes take longer to dry than fur.”

Moomin truly didn’t mind, he was more than happy to dig through his bag and do some sorting out. He laid out the ads he’d picked up way back at the beginning of their journey, ready to go through them again later. He also dug out his brush and comb, he would definitely be needing them to work out the dirt from his fur.  
He was pretty sure Snufkin never bothered, but his friend’s hair had been getting a bit long. Wandering into the bathroom he was greeted by the sight of Snufkin washing his clothes whilst he was also sat in the bath.  
“Snufkin.”  
He didn’t bother looking up, scrubbing his shirt between his paws.  
“Are you seriously washing your clothes and yourself in the same water?”  
Snufkin looked at him, puzzled.  
“Yes?”  
“Why…?”  
“Same way I bathe in rivers. Good enough for a river it’s good enough for a bath.”  
He dropped the shirt back into the water and began scrubbing at his pants.  
Moomin shook his head.  
“Have you done this back home too?”  
“...Maybe.”  
“Is this what happened that time Mamma forced you to wear pyjamas for a whole day while she cleaned your clothes way slower than usual?”  
“...Maybe…”  
Moomin burst into a fit of laughter.  
“It wasn’t funny!” Snufkin waved his arms in the air, splashing water everywhere, “She caught me and _literally_ grabbed me by the scruff of the neck! It was humiliating!”  
Moomin could barely breathe.  
“Y-you should ha- have known better! She always knows when we’re up to something we oughtn’t!”  
Snufkin whined and let himself lay back in the tub.  
“She’s made a point of telling me she’ll take my clothes at the door every time since.”  
Moomin was still wheezing.  
“Oh Snuf…” He looked at his friend and they both dissolved into giggles all over again.

“Right. I’m done.”  
Snufkin climbed out of the tub and began wringing out his clothes, Moomin offering an arm to carry them back into the bedroom as he finished.  
“Don’t forget to actually use a towel.”  
Snufkin sighed for dramatic effect. He will never understand why people could be so particular about a bit of water.  
Speaking of water, Moomin would definitely be needing fresh water for his bath. It had gone positively brown. He had no idea he’d gotten so dirty, a mountain storm tends to do that he supposes…  
He drained the tub, rinsed it quickly and began running a fresh bath before he took a towel to himself. Rubbing it over his head made his hair get all in his face. Ugh.  
“You want me to trim that a bit for you?”  
Moomin had poked his head back in, waving the scissors from his sewing bundle in the air.  
“After you finish your bath, that’d be great.”  
Moomin nodded.

It didn’t take too long for Moomin to finish up his own bath, and he was feeling so much better for being clean again. Snufkin had laid out his clothes on the desk, letting the sun shining in the window dry them off.  
Moomin glanced at the mumrik laying on the floor with his eyes closed.  
“You just got yourself clean only to lie on the floor?”  
Snufkin shrugged.  
Moomin lifted the chair over him.  
“Get up and sit here, I’ll trim that mess you have.”  
“How rude!”  
“What would you call it?”  
“Rugged and roguish.”  
Moomin snorted, “Sure.”  
He was careful not to cut too much off, leaving it short but still a little fluffy. Snufkin didn’t seem to really care one way or the other, but Moomin thought he looked cute.  
“When did you learn to cut hair?”  
It seemed like the thought only just crossed Snufkin’s mind, judging by the surprised tone in his voice.  
“Snorkmaiden taught me. She said it would be _’a valuable skill to have to woo a new partner’_ but I rather think she was making up an excuse to laugh at me trying to trim fur cushions…”  
“Fur cushions?”  
“There was no way she was going to let me near her hair, and I’d rather shave myself entirely than even think of asking to practice on Little My. No one else has hair, besides you, but you don’t care what yours looks like.”  
“That’s not true, I care that it’s not annoying.”  
“I don’t think that counts. Snorkmaiden said it should have ‘style’, whatever that means.”  
“Do we not have style?”  
“Honestly I have no idea, but if style is what the people in her magazines have I don’t think I want it.”  
Snufkin hummed, the whole idea alien to him.  
“I declare we don’t need style.”  
Moomin laughed at that.  
“I agree!”

The rest of their afternoon was spent lounging in their room enjoying some lemonade Moomin bought from the innkeeper down in the bar. Turns out his name is Bryan. Moomin decided he liked him, he was kind and pleasant but didn’t care for asking questions or making smalltalk.  
Snufkin had been laying on his back, on the bed this time, with Moomin laying on his front next to him as he examined each of his ads very carefully and making notes in his notepad. The pros and cons of each one. Thus far he found he wasn’t very satisfied with the idea of any of them, so he shoved them all onto the floor to deal with later.  
It was nice, to relax a bit after the trek through the mountains.   
He looked at Snufkin who was twirling his un-lit pipe in his mouth, his eyes closed and looking completely at peace with the world. He always enjoyed these quiet moments they had. Snufkin was a particular kind of fellow, he was never bothered by what anyone thought of him but it took a long time for him to be completely comfortable with anyone. Moomin felt quite privileged that he was the only person, that he knew of, that Snufkin felt comfortable enough with to laze around with no clothes on like this.  
He was covered in some fur, especially down his hips and legs and both arms, and in recent years he’d grown the same fur Joxter had on his nose and forehead, but he had always been mostly completely covered up.  
If it was incredibly hot he could be convinced to take off his overcoat and wear just his off-white shirt, even if it did take one instance of heatstroke for him to give in to the advice, but otherwise he was never seen by anyone if not in his usual outfit.  
Unless it was Moomin.  
For years now the pair of them had enjoyed midnight swims and sleepovers, and it had become completely natural to them both for neither of them to be at all bothered about sharing their space even while Snufkin was naked.   
That had caused an argument once, while Moomin and Snorkmaiden were still a couple. He didn’t see anything particularly scandalous about it - it was just Snufkin, they were best friends - but when Little My had complained about them never taking anyone else on their midnight swimming trips she had questioned him about it in private, becoming irritated at the knowledge they were so casual about it.  
She’d said something about it not being the ‘done thing’, some of her magazines had said so, but Moomin didn’t really understand. She’d stopped reading those ones, come to think of it.  
The only thing special about the whole thing that Moomin could make heads or tails of was the fact that someone as reserved as Snufkin had deemed him worthy of his trust.  
It made Moomin’s chest feel all fuzzy.

He stretched himself, feeling a bit stiff from resting on his arms for long.  
“Y’alright?”  
Snufkin had opened one eye, peering at him.  
“Yeah, just stiff is all.”  
“Hm. How’s your elbow?”  
“Seems fine now.”  
“Lemme see.”  
Snufkin shuffled himself about, taking Moomin’s arm when it was offered up and inspecting it closely.  
“Well, I think you shall live.”  
He patted Moomin’s arm.  
“Thank you doctor.”  
They shared a smile, both equally pleased their silly argument hadn’t ruined anything between them. Moomin rolled onto his back.  
“I should have brought some playing cards.”  
“Why don’t we go see if we can find some?” Snufkin scrambled over Moomin and off the bed, patting his clothes to confirm they had dried properly.  
“Cards, and some dinner.”  
“We have a plan!” Snufkin hopped about as he pulled on his pants, Moomin standing up and shuffling their things into something resembling tidy.

* * *

Snufkin had chosen to leave his overcoat behind, not wanting to make himself all sweaty and sticky so soon after having a bath, and Moomin found himself very much appreciating how he looked with his shirt and suspenders. Without his scarf the top button of his shirt, which had long since been missing and not replaced, made him look oddly attractive.  
They wandered through the town at a leisurely pace, stopping every now and then to browse the windows of various shops. Moomin was fascinated by the fountain in the centre of a pedestrian square, it had coloured lights where each of the jets of water came from making them look like a rainbow of water. He loved it.  
He didn’t stick around though, not after Snufkin wondered aloud whether he would get into trouble for climbing in it or not. If it turned out he would, they’d spend the evening evading law enforcement.

A little souvenir shop they wandered into had the playing cards he was looking for. They had standard ones and also several different sets with pictures on the cards. He chose the set that had detailed pictures of different flowers on each card.  
While browsing he found some postcards, each with pictures of different landmarks in the town. One of them had a diagonal split in between two pictures, one of the fountain he had enjoyed so much all lit up at night and one of the large park surrounding a lake nearby in the sunshine, where the display was being held tonight. He didn’t want to carry around souvenirs to take home, not yet at least, so he picked one of those postcards up to write a message back home so everyone could see the lovely town.  
Snufkin found a bag of hard fruit candies.

It was beginning to get late, the sun starting to go down, and Moomin had a wonderful idea.  
“D’you fancy getting some food and taking it with us to the park?” He looked at Snufkin with a smile, “like a picnic for dinner!”  
“Sounds lovely.”  
There were several cafes who had extended their opening hours in light of the display, and they decided on getting a cheese salad baguette each, a pot of fruit salad to share, a bag of vegetable chips and a bottle of fruit wine to share. Neither of them cared very much they didn’t have glasses, it felt like rebellious fun to drink from the bottle between them.  
The park was big enough that they could settle themselves on a hill a comfortable distance from anyone else.  
“I’m proud of you.”  
Moomin opted for making idle conversation while they ate.  
“Proud of me? What for?”  
“We’re in a park and you haven’t ripped up a single sign.”  
Snufkin barked out a laugh.  
“There’s time yet!”  
“Don’t you dare!”  
Their joking had the wonderful side effect of Snufkin ending up leaning ever so slightly against his shoulder.  
“This one’s not so bad. It’s not fenced in, and they don’t try and stop people coming and going. Could use less preening but…”  
Moomin shook his head and giggled.  
There appeared to be movement down by the lake, where the boxes of what they assumed were the fireworks had been stacked, and Moomin found his tail wagging lightly in excitement.

They didn’t need to wait long, just finishing up their shared fruit when the first firework whooshed into the air. There was a murmur of happiness that spread through the whole crowd, everyone looking skyward to admire the flashes of different colours.  
The first few were very similar to the ones Pappa and Snork used back home, but soon they became much more impressive. Different blooms coming from a single firework, some changing colour and they lit up the sky, others fizzling and making wavy lines of light.  
Snufkin was switching between staring at the fireworks and staring at Moomin, firmly of the opinion that Moomin was much more spectacular than any of the fireworks but not willing to get caught.  
Moomin gasped at every new kind of explosion, eyes wide. He’d absently found Snufkin’s paw with his own, holding it gently. He didn’t pull his paw away, so Moomin kept hold of it, very gently stroking the back of it with his thumb every now and then.

As the display wound down, he thought that this felt kind of like something one would do on a date. Having a picnic in the park and watching fireworks. Many of his friends back home would classify it as romantic, except probably Little My and Sniff.  
Moomin wasn’t sure how to process the idea of going on a _date_ with _Snufkin_ so he came to the conclusion this was just something best friends would do, pointedly ignoring the fact he hadn’t been able to stop smiling the whole evening.  
By the time it finally finished, they were both leaning fully on each other.  
“Y’sleep?”  
Moomin nudged Snufkin’s head with his snout gently.  
“Not quite.”  
“Why is the inn so far away?”  
“It won’t feel so far when we get going. C’mon,” Snufkin shuffled himself free and stood up, his back cracking as he stretched and making Moomin wince. “I am not about to try carrying you, on your feet.”  
Moomin whined dramatically but took Snufkin’s offered hands to help hoist himself up. They picked up their trash and began their walk back, dropping it off in a trash can on the edge of the park.  
“You’re very cruel, not even giving me a piggyback.”  
“You might be 80% fluff, but you’re still too heavy for me.”  
Moomin made a show of tutting at him.  
“You’re just too skinny is all. All bones.”  
“How dare you, I have plenty of muscle, I just hide it.”  
“There’s a difference between hidden and non-existant, if you were truly hiding it you’d weigh more.”  
“I’m heavy enough to not get blown away by the wind and that’s plenty heavy enough.”  
“You weigh nothing at all. Like Little My.”  
Snufkin gave an over-dramatic gasp.  
“You take that back this instant!”  
“I shall not! You’re light as a feather.”  
“Lies and deceit, the whole lot of it.”  
“I can prove it, watch.”  
Moomin swooped around and slung one arm under Snufkin’s legs, the other on his back, and lifted him into the air easily.  
“Moomin!”  
Snufkin clutched hold of Moomin’s neck as he spun around, both of them laughing.  
“See!”  
“Point made put me down!”  
Moomin gave him a smirk.  
“ _Put_ me down, if you drop me I shall dye your fur as you sleep.”  
“How do you know I don’t want to try a new fur colour?”  
Snufkin narrowed his eyes at him, Moomin continued to smirk at him while holding eye contact.   
“Fair enough.”  
Snufkin grabbed his hat and shoved it over Moomin’s head, leaping out of his arms as he flailed a bit.  
“Hey!”  
Snufkin only laughed over his shoulder, bolting away down the street.   
Thus the chase began. Moomin darted after him, able to catch up when Snufkin fumbled a corner and shoved the hat back on his friend’s head before running off ahead. Snufkin gave chase, more than happy to keep up the game, neither of them caring one bit about the strange looks they received from the odd passer-by.  
Snufkin was more agile than Moomin was, and overtook him before long. As he ran up alongside him they shared a giddy smile. Snufkin encouraged him to keep up the game by skipping past him and doing a mid-run spin just to show off.  
“Yip yip!”

They continued running and stumbling into each other right up to the door of the inn, where they both skidded to a halt and bent over, panting deeply.  
“Draw?”  
“Draw.”  
After a long day and that run, they both stumbled back up the stairs, even Snufkin finding himself glad of a bed to collapse into.  
Snufkin let his limbs go and flopped down onto his front with a sigh, Moomin rolling onto the bed next to him and let his head fall back onto the pillow.  
“You need to take your boots off.”  
Snufkin groaned.  
Moomin removed his hat and placed it on the desk beside the bed, smiling at him when the mumrik peeked at him out of one eye.  
“You’ll regret it if you don’t.”  
“Yes Mamma.”  
Moomin flicked him with his tail when he sat up to slip off his boots. They fell to the floor with a clunk.  
Apparently deciding to avoid any other discomfort, Snufkin slipped his arms out of his suspenders while he was sat and untucked his shirt before letting himself fall back again.  
Moomin had been watching him with a lazy smile, and turned on his side to face him.  
“G’night Snuf.”  
Snufkin rolled his head to the side to peer at him with half-lidded eyes, already feeling half asleep.  
“G’night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just needed the fluff aight. All the fluff.
> 
> Fellas, is it gay to admire your naked best friend?  
> When Moomin finally realizes what all these emotions mean he's gonna feel like he got hit by a truck. IF he figures it out.
> 
> I have no idea what kind of money the Moomin universe uses, no one in Moomin Valley needs money and only Sniff gives a shit about it, so I just picked a name that sounded money-like and fantasy-world-fiction-y.


	8. Rivers are swum

Moomin absolutely did not want to get up. After so long sleeping in his tent laying on a proper bed had been heavenly. They’d both been exhausted last night, even Snufkin hadn’t stirred yet, and he looked as warm and comfortable as Moomin was feeling.  
This tended to happen when they shared a bed, they woke up tangled together in a mess of limbs or he would wake to find Snufkin curled into his side like a little cat, which is how he was right this moment. How he managed to actually continue to breathe like that was beyond him, he’d managed to bury his face in the fur of Moomin’s side and curl his limbs up underneath himself.  
It was unbearably cute.  
Moomin wished they could just stay here like this all day, but judging by the sun streaming in the window and how irritatingly warm it was becoming it must be late morning by now.  
He gently sat himself up, knowing that Snufkin would stir soon after in his own time. If he shook him awake he always made a funny _’mrrrp’_ sound that had started out being something Moomin found hilarious but over time had instead made his chest feel all tingly and funny, so he avoided disturbing him from sleep when he could, it was confusing to try and analyze _that_ feeling and he was far too tired to deal with it right now.

While he sat dangling his legs off the side of the bed scrubbing his paws over his face in an attempt to wake himself up, Snufkin also woke up and crawled off the bed, making a beeline for the bathroom to splash cold water on his face.  
When he wandered back in, shaking droplets of water from his hair, he looked like he’d been awake for hours.  
“How do you do that?”  
“Do what?”  
“Wake up so _fast_?”  
“Ah.” Snufkin chuckled a bit, “You need to be able to get yourself going quickly when you’ve spent as much time as I have living on the road.”  
Moomin groaned.  
“Go splash cold water on your face, it helps.”  
Moomin trudged into the bathroom and did just that. It did help, a little.

They packed up quickly, grabbed a quick breakfast from the bar downstairs and handed the key back to Bryan with a smile and a wave as they left. Moomin was going to miss a comfy bed, but he was excited to be getting going again. The pair walked through the town, stopping to pick up some supplies on the way, and soon they were leaving the paved streets behind and back on the dirt paths they were more used to.  
The hard paving stones didn’t half hurt Moomin’s feet after a while. Why on earth would anyone prefer it to dirt and grass? Snufkin laughed and agreed enthusiastically when he said so.  
There was no destination in mind when they left, Moomin would usually find that upsetting and want to figure out where they were headed next, but strangely he was enjoying just walking with no direction or time limit. After making their way to the festival and then getting to the town in time for the fireworks, he’d had quite enough of it.

* * *

Midsummer was wonderful, and the display had been incredible, but the heat that went with both in the middle of the day?  
Awful.  
Stopping for a break in the shade of a tree was most welcome.  
“Do you have somewhere you’d like to go next Moomin?”  
At hearing Snufkin’s voice he cracked his eyes open again, seeing Snufkin shuffling through the ads they had.  
Moomin sighed. “I don’t know…”  
“No?”  
“The other things do all look fun but… I dunno. I’m kind of tired of being on a deadline. How do you decide where you’re going in winter?”  
Snufkin hummed.  
“I don’t really decide. I just go wherever my feet lead me until it’s time to head back to Moominvalley.”  
Moomin sat up, thinking it over.  
“Then that’s what we’ll do next. See where we end up.”  
Snufkin smiled at him, and crumpled the paper ads into the bag he used to store tinder for fires. 

The pair of them relaxed in the shade for a little longer, before staying still got too boring despite the heat. At least they could walk through the forest a little ways, there was no hope of a breeze but the trees did provide plenty of shade, with the bonus of offering up plenty of things to forage to keep them going.  
“Do you hear that?”  
Moomin flicked his ears around, listening for whatever it was Snufkin could hear.  
He could hear the wind very gently rustling the leaves at the top of the trees, birds singing, the tapping of a woodpecker some ways away, the scuffling of creeps in the undergrowth and… running water?  
“Oh! A river! It must be one that’s connected to the lake back at the town!”  
“I don’t know about you, but a dip in some cool water sounds heavenly.”  
“It sure does, race you there!”  
And Moomin was off, Snufkin laughed and called after him, jogging along behind but far too warm to bother running too fast. Moomin dropped his bag on the bank and leapt into the water with a splash, Snufkin stopping on the bank and lifting his head up, breathing in the cooler air close to the water.  
“This is better… You coming in Snuf?”  
“In a minute. This is a pretty good spot to camp you know, thinking about it.”  
“Even better!”  
Moomin climbed out of the water, a little reluctantly, to help set up. Neither of them would want to do it later, better getting it out of the way. Once all done, they could properly take in the area.  
There were some gentle rapids just upstream that looked a lot of fun to use as a slide, of sorts. The river was wide, and incredibly deep in the middle, and all along the banks trees that looked like weeping willows but with closed flower buds hidden in the leaves dangled into the water.  
Snufkin chose to strip down to just his pants to go swimming, he really didn’t need the extra layers, especially not while they were running up the shore of the river to jump into the rapids and slide back down. Both of them cheered and laughed the whole way, happily splashing each other when back in the calmer water.  
When the light began to fade they stopped sliding down the rapids in favour of enjoying swimming in the more open expanse of river. Moomin would dive down deep and come back up right behind Snufkin to splash him, earning him a tackle and having his head dunked back underwater.  
The game devolved into water tag, Moomin having the upper-paw in the water. He was a superb swimmer, much better than Snufkin could ever hope to be. The chase ended up in the shallower water, Moomin tackling Snufkin to the ground and leaving them both sat up to their shoulders laughing and trying to catch their breath.  
Snufkin relaxed back, letting himself float on the water on his back and sighing happily. Moomin swam up next to him before diving once again, this time not leaping up to splash him when he resurfaced. Instead he scoured the river basin for interesting things, there wasn’t much to see, not like the ocean back home, but he found some pretty coloured pebbles and admired some fish.  
Treading water next to Snufkin, Moomin piled the pebbles onto his stomach. He didn’t seem to mind, smiling at him with amusement. He rolled one up his chest, a dark brown one with a swirly pattern of orange in it.  
“It looks like someone put tree bark into a stone.”  
Snufkin watched and hummed, but chose not to comment. He was enjoying their peaceful moment too much.

Now the sun had set, the flowers intertwined with the branches of the willow-like trees bloomed, all of them bright pink and _glowing_ which made Moomin gasp.  
“Snufkin, look!”  
“Well I’ll be.”  
Moomin brushed his collected pebbles off of Snufkin and swam over to one of the branches dangling in the water, Snufkin following behind.  
The flowers were beautiful, they looked almost like waterlily flowers, if those grew on tree branches instead of waterlilies. The soft pink glow mixed with the reflected blue of the water and the sky made everything feel magical.  
“We should probably dry off.”  
He didn’t particularly want to, but as usual Snufkin was right, and they could both do with something to eat.  
Snufkin pulled his shirt on after a very quick towel dry, using his overcoat in place of an actual towel, while Moomin only shook out his fur. Letting it air dry would keep him cool for a little longer. Leaning back against a log they’d dragged to their camp Moomin nearly forgot about dinner, enchanted by the glowing flowers and the fireflies that were floating around.  
Snufkin had to bump his shoulder to drag his attention back to their meal of fruits, nuts and some bread. It was much too hot to want to cook anything.  
After all their laughter and games it was nice to sit in companionable silence for a while. It felt like any day he’d ever spent with Snufkin, just the way he liked his days really. If every day could feel as good as this one, he’d be the happiest person on the planet.  
Moomin really didn’t think anything could be better than being with Snufkin like this, except perhaps a comfortable bed to sleep on instead of a bed roll, but that’s only if he were being picky. It was difficult to feel particularly picky when he had the sounds of the river and the forest in his ears, the lights of hundreds of fireflies and beautiful glowing flowers to look at, and the feeling of Snufkin right beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little slower this chapter, and shorter, but I mostly just wanna get them moving again.  
> The next few chapters are all about the pining, they've been spending quite a while now just the two of them and it's gonna start stirring up feelings that have been thus far expertly buried.


	9. Realizations are made

Upriver proved to be a good direction to walk in, providing the two travellers with plenty of good camping spots and more than enough forage for them to live on, and they never turned down an excuse to take a break in the heat of the day and have a swim.  
Moomin quite lost track of how long they’d followed the river so far, but he was excited when it opened out into a beautiful lake. As lovely as the river had been, it was becoming a little bit monotonous.   
They skirted the shore of the lake for quite a long way, Moomin marvelling at how much bigger it was than any lakes back in the valley, before choosing a spot to make camp. It was nice and quiet, completely out of the way from any potential hiking trails. It felt different to Moomin somehow, being so far away from marked paths like this. Snufkin seemed so used to it that it didn’t make any difference to him at all, but to Moomin it was like being completely alone in the world, out in the wilds.  
Pappa’s little forays out into ‘the wilds of nature’ that ended up being little more than a camp-out at the beach seemed even more like a waste of effort than Moomin had previously thought they were. Pappa seemed to enjoy them though, and they did always kickstart his inspiration for his memoirs again, perhaps small things like that seemed more exciting after you’d been settled down with a family for so long. That was an odd thought, he wasn’t sure he liked it. Maybe when he’s older he’d change his mind on the whole thing.

It hadn’t taken either of them too long to fall asleep that night, both plenty tired from all the walking. When Moomin woke in the morning it was to the sound of pattering against the canvas of his tent. Peering outside confirmed it was raining, and quite heavily too.  
Well, they’d had a good long run of bright, sunny weather, he supposed they were due for some rain. Thinking about it, by now it must be getting close to autumn…  
“Morning.”  
Snufkin greeted him from the entrance of his own tent. They’d set them up at an angle so they’d be able to each sit inside their own tent and still be able to see each other and chat.  
“Mornin’ Snufkin.”  
Snufkin threw a bag to him, containing some breakfast, for which he was very grateful.  
“Is it me, or is it colder than it has been?”  
Moomin looked up at the sky as he wondered, out loud. He had a nice coat of fur but there was a distinct change in temperature, he was sure.  
“It’s not just you, it’s some degrees cooler. Fall is on its way.”  
He looked at Snufkin as he spoke. He seemed like he might still be tired.  
“Should’ve just shared huh?”  
Moomin joked, but Snufkin didn’t really reply. He just looked away towards the lake. Moomin couldn’t see his face now, with his hat obscuring him. He hoped he was okay.  
“I’m gonna get some fishing done.”  
Moomin looked at him in confusion.  
“You’ll get soaked!”  
“Yes. I can dry out.”  
“What if you get sick?”  
“I have herbs for that.”  
“Maybe wait until the rain has stopped? Just in case?”  
“We need to eat despite the rain.”  
“But-”  
“I’ll be fine, Moomin. You stay here.”  
And with that he picked up his rod and bait box and wandered off down to the lakeshore. He’d gone and been overbearing, he was sure. How could he help it though? He was a moomin! Caregiving is in his blood! If only he’d inherited Mamma’s innate skill at convincing people to do something they don’t want to. To this day he’d never seen anyone else who could simultaneously change Snufkin’s mind about something, stop Little My causing mischief, and calm himself, Sniff and Snorkmaiden when they’d all worked themselves up into a state.  
It was both admirable and incredibly frustrating at times.  
Settling himself down again, Moomin opted for having a lie in. Seeing as the weather was so awful there wasn’t much else to do, he _really_ didn’t want to get rained on, and he hadn’t had the chance to enjoy sleeping in since they left.

* * *

The rain felt nice. Calming. If he closed his eyes, Snufkin could pretend it was washing all his worry and anxiety away, as silly as that was. He was a very silly mumrik he supposed, so it made sense.  
He cast his line and watched it float gently on the water. He really hoped he hadn’t just upset Moomin, he didn’t mean to. It’s just, how is he supposed to keep his racing heart in check when Moomin says things like he did?  
They shared a bed plenty of times, but only when it was necessary. When there was no other bed available and it would be much more odd for Snufkin to sleep on the floor. Or when they were both so tired they just fell asleep where they were. It certainly wasn’t anything outlandish for the pair of them to share, but having Moomin suggest it so casually, with the intent of them curling up together…  
Snufkin shook his head.  
It felt more intimate somehow, if they planned to share like that, and he wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to resist cuddling up to him. Moomin’s fur was impossibly soft, and if Snufkin had to put a name to the scent of his friend it would be ‘Home’, which was a frightening enough concept for a vagabond such as him as it was without Moomin making innocent comments that make his heart do flips.  
The whole thing was not something Snufkin was at all equipped to navigate, it’s not like he ever planned to fall in love with anyone, let alone his best friend. He never even planned to have a best friend!  
What on earth did people even do in this situation?  
It’s not like he can just say _’That’s a perfectly reasonable suggestion Moomin however because I am hopelessly in love with you and quite aware you do not feel the same it would make me feel very awkward.’_  
Yeah. Right.

He felt a tug on his line but didn’t move to reel it in. He honestly didn’t even particularly want to catch anything, it was just something to do that wasn’t looking at Moomin’s beautiful smile and wanting to scream.  
He’d wait for a stronger pull, a decent size fish. That should take plenty of time, and had the added bonus of providing enough meat to store in preparation for winter. More than once he hadn’t bothered and found himself desperately scrounging for scraps of food, which was no fun at all. Dried fish wasn’t the most appetizing thing in the world, especially without any of Moominmamma’s selection of spices, but it would suffice.  
The fact it was another excuse to get a bit of distance from Moomin for a while was a welcome side-effect, as much as it pained him.  
He was quite used to it by now, forcing some distance between himself and his love for both their sakes.  
He could _not_ risk Moomin finding out.  
If he knew that Snufkin looked at him as more than just simply a good friend he was quite sure he’d be horrified, or at least uncomfortable, and hearing the rejection from Moomin’s own mouth would utterly shatter his heart. He couldn’t face that, as gentle as he was sure Moomin would be about it, it would be a rejection nonetheless.

* * *

Getting some more sleep was not working, at all.  
Moomin tossed and turned for a while before giving up, opting to play solitaire with his playing cards. He wasn’t very good at it, but it was a single player kind of game and it brought back pleasant memories of Mamma teaching him to play back at Moominhouse when he was younger, on rainy days much like this one when he couldn’t go outside to play. It was always fun sitting at the kitchen table with her, playing solitaire or putting together some puzzles, enjoying the warmth of the hearth and whatever wonderful snacks she’d cooked up.  
He got through a couple of rounds before it became impossible to focus. It just wasn’t as much fun on his own. Frustrated with himself for being so clingy towards people, he always felt better when he was with someone else for some company, Moomin chose instead to do some journaling while he had some time.   
He’d brought the notebook, may as well use it. He wasn’t exactly used to keeping a journal, or a diary. He’d tried when he was younger but he just didn’t have the same level of patience as Pappa to sit and write for any length of time.  
What were you supposed to even write about?  
He scribbled a couple of things about their adventure so far, and attempted to draw the glowing flowers they’d admired along the river. Then tried to scribble the ruins they’d explored some time ago, that one wasn’t very good. There wasn’t exactly much inspiration sat in a tent, this must be that writer’s block Pappa was always complaining about.  
He shuffled around to look out of the flap of his tent, where he could see the mountains across the lake, the trees lining the shore, and Snufkin perched on a rock with his fishing rod in hand.  
The sight made him smile. He started to doodle the view in his journal, lingering quite a bit longer on the little drawn Snufkin than was really necessary for what was little more than a silhouette.  
Glancing back at his friend, Moomin found himself setting aside the journal and pencil in favour of just… watching him.  
Was that weird? Was he being weird?  
Little My would probably say he was, but she also tended to say he was weird anyway. Besides, looking at Snufkin was wonderful. He didn’t often get the chance, Snufkin didn’t like being stared at and back home there was always someone who wanted him to do something, leaving very little time for standing in his bedroom window to admire his friend.  
He really was lovely.   
Moomin liked when his hair poked out in funny directions from under his hat, if he took off the hat on those days his hair was always sticking up all over the place and it was positively adorable, every single time Moomin desperately wanted to run his paws through it.  
He liked when he caught a smile too. Snufkin didn’t smile like everyone else he knew, his smiles were small and a little lop-sided, and quite a rarity. His chest felt all fuzzy every time he managed to do or say something that brought out one of those smiles.  
His tail was swishing gently as he fished. It wasn’t as fluffy as it often was, being so wet from the rain, but Moomin loved it just as much as ever. It was funny, how telling that tail could be. Snufkin had spent a long time forcing himself to not show too much emotion through it, sometimes he’d even grab it and hold it still which never failed to make Moomin giggle a little bit, but despite his best efforts Moomin had learned the special language of Snufkin’s tail.  
A gentle swish like this meant he was thinking far more than he was concentrating on whatever he was trying to look busy doing.  
His tail was the same pretty ginger colour as his hair. Just ever so slightly brown, and when the sun shines on the fur it looks like shimmery bronze.

More and more he’d been feeling like he wanted to be closer to Snufkin, which was ridiculous when they were literally spending every day with each other. Still, it felt like there was this distance they kept between each other, an invisible line that they never crossed.  
It was odd, it never felt like this with any of his other friends. He’d been wondering about it for a while. He knew he could be a little… slow, at times, when it came to figuring out the ins and outs of his relationships with people. Heaven knows it took him long enough to figure out he didn’t love Snorkmaiden like he thought he did. He still felt bad about that.  
Mamma had told him that the best way to deal with it was to sit back, take some time, and really think about his feelings and thoughts towards someone and try to relate that to what he knew about relationships.  
He thought about Snufkin, which was easy.  
He thought about how much he enjoyed being with him, no matter how long he’d already spent with him. How his voice sounded like the most beautiful thing in the world. How his eyes were always so soft, and such a gorgeous brown colour, and in the sunlight how they’d have little flecks of gold in them. How much he loved his smile, and how hearing him laugh made his heart flutter. How much he wished he could bury his nose in his hair, take in the wonderful scent of campfire smoke, pipe weed and nature that clung to him. How warm it always felt when he held his paw, whenever he could find any excuse to do so.  
Honestly was there _anything_ about Snufkin that he didn’t adore?  
Moomin couldn’t think of a single thing, except perhaps the fact that he did not currently have his arms wrapped around him.  
Wait…

Oh.

Oh no. Oh _no_. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He felt like someone had just thrown ice water over his head.  
He knew what this feeling was, he’d read about it enough, questioned Mamma and Pappa almost endlessly looking for a decent explanation of what exactly it would feel like, going over and over his interactions with people to see if any of them had sparked anything in him, so desperate he was to feel it properly. To feel it for real.  
It had been right in front of him this whole time, hadn’t it? How long had he even felt this way? It was a long time, probably even as far back as _years_ now.  
This was a problem.  
He was in love with Snufkin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been drawing like a madman recently and barely written at all. My bad.
> 
> Next chapter is a fun one tho, I had the idea for it from the beginning and I'm excited to write it.


	10. Trains are ridden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i love train journeys and i am projecting strongly

After staying at the lake for a couple of days, the two travellers made good time around the edges of the mountain and through the seemingly endless meadows. They had gotten so used to the wide open expanse that when they came upon their first cultivated hedgerow it took a couple of seconds for them to recognize what it was.  
They were approaching civilization once again.  
Moomin would have happily walked along the hedgerow until he found a road or path, but Snufkin threw his pack over it and scrambled through so he followed suit. It made him a little uneasy, thinking that someone probably owned this land and while he agreed with Snufkin’s principle of the land being free for everyone he didn’t really want to argue with an angry farmer. They often carried guns too. He didn’t want to square up against an angry farmer _with a gun_.  
He followed Snufkin, keeping an eye out for any displeased landowners, while his friend wandered along quite happily. They climbed over some fences as they walked, and another couple of hedgerows, before they came out on a dirt road.  
They could see a small town at the end of it, probably a couple of miles away.  
“Wanna go see what we can see?”  
Moomin was excited at the prospect of something new. Snufkin hummed an affirmative and they set off, down the road this time and not through fields. There were a few cows along the fences that Moomin was overjoyed to pet.  
The town was significantly smaller than the last one they’d been in, it looked more like a rest point that some homes and farms had been built around, which made sense when they caught sight of a train line.  
Moomin had never really seen a train before, they didn’t really have any need for trains in Moominvalley and their adventures outside the valley had never involved them. He was intrigued by the idea of seeing a train up close.  
“They’re not too terribly exciting on their own, unless you like engineering I suppose.”  
“Yeah, yeah, but I’ve never seen one! Pappa had some pictures in one of his books, but that’s it.”  
“Well, looks like there’s a station up here.”  
Snufkin wandered in the direction of the train station, Moomin jogging along behind to catch up. He didn’t really know what he was expecting, but seeing a train for real?  
It was… honestly a little intimidating. He had no idea they were so _BIG_ and even just idling in the station the engine was loud. He’d been admiring the sight so intently he hadn’t noticed Snufkin had wandered off to look at one of the boards nearby. He very nearly panicked when suddenly Snufkin was no longer next to him.  
“What’ve you found?”  
Moomin chose to just ask what had caught his attention, not really wanting to admit he’d just gotten the fright of his life.  
Snufkin nodded towards a list he was looking at, train times and destinations.  
“Dunno where any of these places are, but it might be fun to get a train ride no?”  
Moomin’s eyes lit up. What a smart mumrik.  
“Really!? Wait… won’t you hate being stuck on a train?”  
Snufkin smiled at him, “It’s not so bad, you can get up and walk around on a train. Thanks for thinking of that though.”  
Moomin turned his head back to the board, desperately trying to hide the blush creeping onto his face. _Calm down, it was just a smile, and of course he’d thank you for thinking of him. Stop it._  
He wished he had a helpful hat like Snufkin’s, it did a wonderful job of hiding his face, just like it was now. Resolved to ignore his stupid racing heart, Moomin walked over to the ticket booth. He assumed this is where you went to request passage on a train, everyone else seemed to be doing so.  
The hemulen behind the counter was reading a newspaper, only looking at Moomin when he cleared his throat.  
“Hello! Where does that train go?” Moomin pointed at the train currently idling on the closest platform.  
“North-East. Stops at Highvalley.”  
Moomin didn’t know where Highvalley was, or what it was honestly, he assumed a town.  
“How long is the trip?”  
“‘Bout 14 hours, give or take. 5 stops along the way.”  
“How much for 2 all the way?”  
“4 crowns per, 6 per for a return.”  
Moomin dug 8 out of the coin bag he had and slid them under the gap. The hemulen took them and handed back 2 paper tickets, which Moomin held proudly as he returned triumphantly to Snufkin who was smirking at him.  
“Behold!”  
Snufkin feigned being impressed, happy to play along. “Impressive! We have passage then.”  
“We do indeed!” Moomin bowed dramatically, then gestured to the door of the train, “Although I have no idea if we need to find specific seats. I never clarified that.”  
Snufkin snorted out a laugh and peered over at the tickets.  
“Carriage E, seats 45 and 46.”  
Snufkin glanced at the carriage they were stood in front of, and set off down the platform. When he looked properly, Moomin noticed a big C printed next to the door. That makes sense.  
He followed Snufkin into the carriage with an E printed next to the door, and was quite glad their seats happened to be the first ones on the right once they got through the little entryway. Just 2 seats next to each other, with a small table against the backs of the seats in front. Some of the seats had the chairs in front the other way around, so that 4 people could sit together. Neat.  
Snufkin let Moomin sit by the window, saying he’ll enjoy being able to see everything once they start moving.

Before long a conductor wandered along requesting to see tickets, and Moomin proudly handed theirs over. He wasn’t entirely sure why he stamped them but this was all new to him anyway, so may as well roll with it, the conductor must know what he’s doing.  
He informed them that there was a dining car at the front of the train and that they were set to arrive the next morning.  
Moomin was incredibly excited, and Snufkin just appeared amused by it all. The second the train actually began to move Moomin could barely sit still.  
“C’mon!”  
Snufkin grabbed his arm and tugged him out of his seat, giving him no time at all to react or reply. He dragged him back to the entryway, where they crowded around the window of the door.  
Moomin was about to ask why this was better than staying sat at their seats, but Snufkin clicked open the window and it dropped down to let the air rush in, ruffling his fur and Snufkin’s hair wildly enough that he had to take off his hat and hold it.  
“This is amazing!”  
“I thought you’d like it.”  
Both of them laughed loudly, thoroughly enjoying themselves with no care for how obnoxious they might seem to anyone else. No one complained, the couple with 2 children at the opposite end of their car actually copied them and took the children to the door at their end, and one of the 2 more elderly ladies rolled her eyes and shook her head, but that was it.  
Not that they would have cared any more if anyone _did_ complain.  
How could either of them possibly pay attention to anything other than the feeling of the breeze blowing in the window and basking in the joy of being together for a new experience?

* * *

After settling back into their seats it was easier to relax back and just watch the scenery pass by. As far as Moomin was concerned it also had the wonderful side effect of Snufkin leaning up on the table, bracing himself on his knees on his seat, so he could lean right over to see out the window properly and having him so close was wonderful.  
They were currently playing a game of making up the most outlandish story they could think of about the places they passed. Moomin was winning.  
“Okay, this village. It was cursed by a witch. No one that lives there can ever leave.”  
Snufkin was doing his best, but making up things that weren’t true didn’t seem to be his forte.  
“Close, but not quite. It only looks like no one can ever leave because they are in fact all werewolves and don’t _want_ to leave because the village is their den, they only leave when the leader announces an expedition. The witch’s curse was not actually a curse, it was an attempt to cure the town of the lycanthropy curse but it failed and all the sad howling made people think it must have been a curse.”  
Moomin gestured similarly to Moominpappa did when he told stories.  
Snufkin narrowed his eyes as he stared out of the window for a few seconds, before sighing and dropping his head down on the table between his elbows.  
“Uuugh,” his voice was muffled, with his face buried in his forearms, “you inherited Moominpappa’s storytelling talents, that’s for sure.”  
Moomin giggled, “Aw c’mon Snuf, you can’t think of anything else?”  
“Nope.”  
“Maybe you’re not trying hard enough.”  
Moomin grinned at him as he turned his head to scowl at him.  
“Okay fine, turns out they’re all ghosts afterall, not cursed or werewolves, the town itself isn’t even real it was a figment of our imagination.”  
The indignant tone Snufkin had made Moomin burst into a fit of giggles.  
“I’d call that a win for you.”  
“A pity win is not a real win.”  
“Noooo it’s not pity!”  
“Yes it is. I have been bested and can only win through looking as pathetic as possible.”  
As if to demonstrate, Snufkin collapsed back into his seat with a deep sigh.  
“You’re silly.”  
“Takes one to know one.”

By now it was approaching sunset, which was as good a time as any to go check out the dining car, especially when Moomin’s stomach rumbled at the mention of food.  
The walk through the other cars was a little awkward, Moomin wasn’t at all sure he really liked the way everyone’s attention was drawn to them when they walked in, and Snufkin definitely didn’t like it, but they made it without incident.  
There was a relatively small selection of hot meals, but plenty of cold options. They decided on a hot meal, having been talked into it by the friendly server. She told them they picked up some nice fresh fish before they set off from the last station, and had made some fish and chips with peas that smelled incredible.  
It tasted as good as it smelled, too. They ate at one of the tables in the dining car before making their way back to their seats, and Moomin was glad to sit comfortably after eating such a large meal.  
“We are going to _have_ to tell Mamma about that when we get home.”  
Snufkin hummed in agreement.  
“Oh, imagine how delicious it would be to have some fish we catch at the beach cooked like that!”  
Moomin was practically buzzing at the thought, excited to be able to actually introduce a dish to Mamma for a change.  
“Could make a day out of it. Take a boat out fishing before coming back to show Mamma the recipe.”  
“Yes! That would be fantastic!”

The sun had pretty much completely set by now, the car lit by dim lights that made it feel nice and cosy in their little corner. The lack of daylight made it hard to really see much out of the window, so Moomin dug out his cards.  
They happily tag-teamed a few rounds of solitaire, which went a lot better than when he’d tried playing it alone, and then played a few rounds of go fish.  
The games were getting slowly less lucid as they both began to feel incredibly tired.   
“Where are we at now?”  
Moomin squinted at his cards, having quite forgotten how the game was going. He got no real reply from Snufkin, just a grunt that may or may not have been an attempt at a reply.  
Looking at him, Snufkin was pretty much completely asleep.  
Moomin smiled.  
He didn’t have the heart to disturb him, so he plucked the cards he’d been just barely holding onto from his paws and packed them all away into the box.  
It must be rather late, thinking about it.  
Snufkin’s head was leaning on the back of his seat, knocking his hat almost off his head. Moomin very gently removed the hat from his friend’s head and placed it on the table in front of him. He was worried he might have woken him for a second when he shuffled a bit, but all he did was roll his head to the side, leaning on Moomin’s shoulder.  
Oh stars above.  
Moomin wanted so badly to wrap his arms around him, let him settle against his chest and be able to fall asleep cuddled up like that.  
He knew he mustn’t though.  
Snufkin would hate it, he didn’t like that kind of thing. It was one thing just ending up that way, that couldn’t be helped, but doing it on purpose?  
That would betray the trust he had in him as his best friend. He couldn’t do that to him.  
Honestly, Moomin considered himself the luckiest person in the world to be able to call himself Snufkin’s best friend. He’d told him plenty of times all about how he never got close to anyone, never stayed hanging around anyone for too long. It was just his nature, to not get close to anyone.  
He did his best to understand, Moomin couldn’t really imagine never being close to people, at the very least having one special person, but Snufkin had explained that this is what made him happy, and even if he couldn’t fully understand he would always respect his best friend’s boundaries.  
Even if it did make him sad.

Ever since his realization by the lake, Moomin hadn’t been able to stop daydreaming about what it would be like if Snufkin loved him back… If they could be _together_. He was sure it would be different from how it had been with Snorkmaiden, seeing as neither of them had really been in love in the first place, nothing like how he felt for Snufkin.  
He still felt bad about that, he owed her a massive apology.  
Looking at his sleeping friend though… He really was incredible. A small, selfish part of him kind of hoped Snufkin was right about his nature, that he just wasn’t made for relationships like that and wouldn’t ever want it, because then he could stay the closest person to Snufkin as his best friend.  
That was awfully selfish though, and honestly it made Moomin rather disgusted with himself.   
Very carefully, he brushed a wisp of Snufkin’s hair out of his face. The fur that had grown on his brow was so soft and fluffy, he risked letting his finger brush against it for just a second longer.  
If ever a creature managed to earn the love of Snufkin they would have to be incredibly special, as far as Moomin was concerned not a single soul could ever hope to compare.  
He sighed, such thoughts were distressing and he didn’t want to ruin what a wonderful he’d had by being emotional about things he couldn’t control.  
Snufkin will never love Moomin the way that Moomin loves Snufkin, and that’s okay. Moomin would learn to be okay. He is still his best friend, and no one else in the world could claim that, which was pretty special in itself.  
Moomin gently nestled his head against his best friend’s, closing his eyes. For now he could enjoy just being close to such a wonderful mumrik.

* * *

Snufkin was not used to waking up to the sensation of _moving_.  
It was disconcerting to say the least, and it took him a few panicked seconds to remember where he was before he sighed in relief.  
That’s right, he was on a train.   
With Moomin.  
Who was currently fast asleep, judging by the very gentle snores he could hear, and leaning against Snufkin’s head.  
This was… probably a bit of a problem. There’s no way he could move without disturbing him. Did he want to move though? That was the real problem, because the answer to that question is no.   
No, he does not want to move.  
It was wonderfully warm and cosy, nuzzled up against Moomin. The back of his paw was brushing up against his own, and it would be so _easy_ to just shift his paw and lace their fingers together. It might wake him up though, if he moved his arm, seeing as he was leaning against it and if it did wake him what excuse could Snufkin give for lacing their fingers together?  
None that didn’t out him completely, and that would certainly ruin their friendship. There was nowhere to even run off to, stuck on a train.   
Would running away be a good way to deal with that worst-case scenario?  
Probably not. Definitely not, honestly.  
But would it save him from having to watch the flicker of discomfort on Moomin’s face as he rejected him?  
Absolutely.  
Moomin shifted slightly and Snufkin tensed up. All he did was mutter a little though, nuzzling his face against Snufkin’s head.  
Okay, that’s fine. This is fine. It’s not like that was one of the most adorable things he could possibly have done in his sleep.  
How on earth could a creature as breath-taking as Moomin even _exist_ , it really was not fair at all.

Snufkin silently watched the world go by outside the window, remaining as still as he could so as not to disturb Moomin, internally relishing every second of being cuddled up to him. If only they could stay like this, he thought.  
Unfortunately, all too soon the train began its final approach to their destination. The conductor walked through loudly announcing their imminent arrival, which Snufkin scowled at him for. Did he really have to shout?  
It did wake Moomin without Snufkin having to suffer any awkward conversation about the position they’d been sleeping in though, which was a relief.  
“Morning.”  
“Mornin’ Snuf.” Moomin more yawned than spoke, which was impossibly cute.   
It didn’t take long before the train pulled up to the station, and they were both eager to stretch their legs again after so long.  
Picking up a quick breakfast from the cafe inside the station, the pair raced outside to take in their new surroundings.  
Highvalley certainly was a fitting name for this place, it was high up a mountainside with a vast valley stretching in front of them. They’d both been asleep for the trip through a tunnel to this side of the mountains, it felt like worlds away from where they’d been previously, like a hidden world. The forest spanning the valley looked more sparse than what they’d been used to before, and they could see a couple of rivers snaking through the trees.  
“Which way should we go then do you think?”  
Snufkin was standing on the bottom bar of the railing they were leaning against, resting on his elbows as they peered out at their new adventure.  
Moomin hummed, then pointed right across the valley to the rolling hills at the foot of a mountain opposite the one they were on.  
“I think we should go that way, see if we can make it to the other side and see what’s there!”  
Snufkin laughed, making Moomin smile wide.  
“Let’s be on our way then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked out exactly how many more chapters there's gonna be! Heoll yeahh.


	11. Snowstorms are endured

“I do hate walking in snow…”  
Snufkin kicked up some of the offending powdery snow as he walked, glaring at it as he did so.  
“Snow is great!”  
Moomin did not share his distaste for it in the slightest, having been admiring the scenery and happily stomping about in the couple of inches of snow covering the ground.  
“It’s pretty enough for a while, but it makes my boots all wet and is horribly inconvenient. And it’s harder to walk through when it gets deeper.”  
Snufkin continued his grumbling and buried his nose into his scarf.  
“It’s fun too!”  
To try and prove his point Moomin scooped up a handful of snow and threw it into the air, watching it flutter back to the ground. Snufkin only stared blankly at him, entirely unmoved by his enthusiasm.  
He turned and continued their trek, leaving Moomin to roll his eyes.   
The troll didn’t take Snufkin’s complaining personally, he thought it was rather adorable actually. Snufkin had such a funny selection of things he took exception to. Snow was apparently firmly on his list of things he couldn’t stand, but he had no issue with rain even when it was freezing and more like sleet than rain. He also didn’t seem at all bothered by ice, as long as it was not accompanied by snow.  
Moomin liked it.  
Others, especially Little My, would be annoyed by the seemingly incomprehensible conditions Snufkin applied to things he did and did not tolerate, but Moomin found it endearing, like he was always finding new things to appreciate about the mumrik. It was certainly never boring, and how could he possibly be annoyed by it when every new thing he learnt about his dear friend made his chest feel all warm and fuzzy?  
Yes, he was biased, but still.

As he wandered along behind Snufkin he wondered if he’d ever had the joy of participating in a snowball fight…  
He initially assumed that he must have, but he did leave Moominvalley every winter specifically to travel south to warmer weather, and he had never spent very long with all his many half-siblings who would have initiated a snowball fight given the chance.  
Moomin couldn’t really imagine Snufkin being the one to initiate a snowball fight, unless maybe it was specifically banned somewhere.  
Now would be the perfect time to introduce him to the joy of a good snowball fight, come to think of it.

Snufkin stopped dead in his tracks when he felt something hit him squarely in the back. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Moomin doing a terrible job of pretending to be distracted. Calmly he brushed some of the snow off of his shoulder, and removed his backpack to set it down at his feet.  
He could see Moomin watching him out of the corner of his eye, but he refused to say anything just yet, or even acknowledge him. If he wanted to start this, then Snufkin would finish it. He scooped up a pawful of snow before he straightened back up, keeping it hidden behind his back.  
“Moomin…” Snufkin purposefully gave his voice a bit of an edge, as if he were upset.  
“Yes…?”  
He almost felt bad, seeing the worried expression on Moomin’s face. That wouldn’t do at all. He threw his snowball at him, his aim being better than he had hoped for as it hit Moomin directly in the face.  
Snufkin couldn’t hold in a giggle, especially when Moomin shook his head with the most shocked expression he’s ever seen on him.  
“Right!”  
Moomin recovered quickly, leaning down to scoop up some more ammo and shrugging off his own backpack.  
Snufkin scrambled to escape the snowballs being thrown in his direction, scooping up his own to throw back as he did.  
The two of them ran around between the bare trees throwing snowballs back and forth, laughing loudly as they did.  
Snufkin landed several more hits on Moomin, but Moomin was able to scoop more snow in his larger paws that more than made up for his less accurate aim.

Neither of them paid any attention to how long they were enjoying their game, despite how tired they both felt from all the running around. So completely lost in the joy of the experience they hadn’t noticed the darkening of the sky.  
Snufkin evaded a snowball by jumping up and clinging onto a tree branch, which had the unfortunate consequence of shaking off any snow he could have used to throw a return snowball, so instead he jumped to another branch, using his claws to hold on much like a cat, and then leapt out of the tree directly at Moomin, landing on him and sending both of them sprawling onto the floor in a wheezing, laughing mess of limbs.

Half-heartedly they batted some snow at each other, but having finally stopped neither of them particularly wanted to start back up again, especially so out of breath.  
Snufkin flopped himself on Moomin’s belly, too tired to really care whether he should or not.   
“I think,” Moomin sighed, still trying to catch his breath, “we should call that a draw.”  
Snufkin huffed out a laugh, “Deal.”  
He would have been quite happy to stay here for a while, but the unmistakable sight of snow falling was concerning. A lot of snow falling.  
Snufkin looked up at the sky, seeing that the light was quickly fading with the thick cloud cover.  
“Hm. We should hurry up and set up a camp…”  
Moomin opened his eyes and groaned. “Damnit.”  
“Don’t swear.”  
Snufkin flicked him with his tail as he stood.

It took them a while to find their packs again, and even longer to find a place that looked safe enough to set up. Moomin began collecting whatever sticks he could that would suitable for a fire while Snufkin hurriedly pitched his tent. He’d been planning on doing the usual and setting up both, but the sheer volume of snow now falling was worrying, as was the significant lack of light by now.  
The wind had picked up too.  
“Moomin?” He couldn’t help the spike of fear that shot through him. He knew how dangerous being lost in a snowstorm at night could be.  
“I’m here!”  
Moomin appeared from behind him, and Snufkin hid a breath of relief.  
“I don’t think we have time to do a full setup, we really don’t want to be out in this for long.”  
Moomin looked at the single tent, his ears flicking back and forth. Snufkin really hoped Moomin wouldn’t be too upset about it.  
“Oh, okay, sure!” Moomin’s face was, for once, quite unreadable to Snufkin, which was a little disconcerting.

They were unable to light a fire, the wind far too fierce now. Tomorrow they’d have to try and build a windbreak, if this storm kept up they’d be here for a bit.  
It was a little awkward, neither of them seemed to really know how to fill the time sitting quietly together in the same tent. They ate some of the food they had saved, and chatted a little bit, before deciding to just settle down and get some sleep.  
They curled under their own bedrolls, keeping some distance between each other, and listened to the howling of the wind.

Getting to sleep was difficult, Moomin thought, much more so than usual. It was incredibly cold, even with two of them sharing the same space and his thick winter coat that had grown in. He wished the wind would quit blowing so violently already. It was fine while he was tucked up inside a nice sturdy building, but being in a tent was significantly more unnerving.

He looked over his shoulder when he heard an odd noise from Snufkin, and immediately felt his chest tighten. At least he had a nice thick coat of fur, Snufkin didn’t have so much fur and it was nowhere near as thick as his own.  
He could see him shake a little under his blanket, curled up tightly into a ball.   
Moomin knew Snufkin would hate it, but he was worried about him, so he shuffled over and curled himself against his back and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.  
He felt him stiffen and cringed, he’d hoped that by some miracle he was asleep and wouldn’t notice.  
“I’m sorry Snufkin, I know you hate it, but it’s so cold…” Moomin whispered, relaxing only a little when Snufkin hummed in agreement. While the knowledge that Snufkin was obviously unhappy with the situation weighed heavily on his heart, Moomin could help thinking about how nice it was to hold him like this.  
Nestled so close it felt like all his senses were focused on Snufkin alone, and it was much easier to feel sleepy when he felt so contented. How lovely it would be to be able to curl up to sleep like this all the time.

Snufkin, for his part, was fighting the urge to turn over so he could bury his face in the soft fur of Moomin’s chest. He wished there was some way he could correct him about hating this, but there was no excuse he could think of that wouldn’t let slip his secret.   
It was certainly a lot warmer like this, he was very glad that Moomin was much braver than he was. He would never have had the nerve to curl up against him, and yet Moomin had done so even thinking it would upset him.  
He really was wonderful.  
Snufkin couldn’t reconcile actually turning over and nuzzling into Moomin’s chest, that was much too close to living out his dreams, but he could tuck his nose under Moomin’s arm if he shuffled himself a little closer, which meant he could hide his smile and enjoy the warm smell of Moomin’s fur.  
Right up until this moment he’d been a bit annoyed about the snowstorm raging outside, but cuddled up in Moomin’s arms like this? He felt a little guilty about it, but he was so glad they’d gotten caught in it like they had, if they hadn’t then he wouldn’t be in this position right now.  
It felt different, knowing that Moomin had actively chosen to curl up against him instead of just ending up that way while they slept.  
It hurt that he didn’t do it because he loved him the same way Snufkin did, but he had chosen it so if he didn’t think too hard about it Snufkin could just enjoy how warm and safe it felt with Moomin’s arms around him like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have like 500 things to draw atm and don't have much time to write! yay! (help)
> 
> I hope the next chapter won't be too long but I genuinely don't know c':  
> feel free to come say hi on tumblr!


	12. Slopes are skiied

Moomin understood that Snufkin left the valley in the winter because he needs some time to himself, he didn’t when they were younger, but he did now, yet as they trudged through the deep snow he smirked to himself as he considered there may be another rather large reason Snufkin always travelled south every winter.  
He hated snow.  
He hadn’t said so, of course, and when asked he’d say it was neither here nor there, but he’d been grumbling under his breath about it almost constantly the entire time they’d been walking through it. It was adorable.  
Moomin himself found it equal parts wonderful and awful. His winter wakings had provided him with a fair amount of experience with snow, it was fun to mess about in but it did have the tendency to make everything so much more difficult and a lot slower. They’d worked out it was easier for Moomin to take the lead, he could make a path through the drifts for Snufkin to walk a little easier, his long skinny legs meant he sank far too easily.  
The decision had been made when he sank for the hundredth time and ended up laying in the snow, scowling at the overcast sky and declaring he was not going to move from that spot until it all melted. Moomin had to essentially pick him up to get them moving again. 

“It won’t be too long until spring now Snuf, it’ll be strange having a spring without sitting on the bridge listening for your song.”  
Moomin heard a grunt from behind him, a break in the grumpy whisperings Snufkin was giving to himself. He couldn’t help smiling.  
“Aw c’mon, there’s plenty of things to enjoy here to cheer you up!”  
Moomin gestured widely with his arms, stopping to make a grand flourish and turn to look at Snufkin, who shuffled up behind him and raised an eyebrow.  
“You mean the bare trees? Or the endless expanse of snow?”  
“Uhh… well. There’s blue sky right now!”  
Snufkin glanced up at the sky, which was indeed clear and blue right now.  
“See?”  
Moomin was grinning, but Snufkin maintained his unimpressed expression.  
“Grumpy Snufkin is fun, don’t get me wrong, but I do miss cheerful Snufkin.”  
“I’m not grumpy.”  
“You are. Very grumpy.”  
“I’m not. I’m displeased.”  
“There’s a difference there?”  
“Yes.”  
“Well then, displeased Snufkin is fun, but I still miss cheerful Snufkin. I’m sure he’s in there somewhere.”  
“No he’s not. The cheer has been buried under miles of snow and shan’t be seen again until it melts.”  
“We can make the snow cheerful!”  
Snufkin scoffed.  
“We can! I shall find a way to make snow cheerful by the end of today.”  
By this point Snufkin had pushed him into continuing their trek, which Moomin was enjoying making a show of looking like as much fun as possible.  
“I’ll hold you to that.”

* * *

Moomin was busy thinking hard about another way to make snow cheerful when he heard it. A muffled thump, like someone dropping something very heavy. His ears swivelled around, listening as closely as possible. He picked up a low humming sound, like machinery, and an intermittent swooshing sound.  
Snufkin had picked up that he was listening for something and was doing the same.  
“What d’you think it is?”  
Snufkin tilted his head.  
“You know, I’m not sure.”  
For some reason Moomin was a little surprised that Snufkin didn’t know.  
“Let’s go check it out!”  
Moomin altered their direction slightly to head in the direction of the noise, Snufkin hovering close by his shoulder.

It took them about half an hour to find the source of the sound, breaking the treeline on a slope and watching a hemulen in bright clothing skidding downhill on skis.  
“Wow! A ski slope!”  
Moomin was thrilled, he’d met a hemulen that liked to ski in winter before on his many winter adventures in Moominvalley and had always wanted to see an actual ski slope, one intended for skiing on. Snufkin was just content that it was nothing threatening.  
It was hard going, through the snow and climbing up the slope. They kept to the tree line where the roots helped make footholds and the branches made the snow not quite so deep, but it was still hard work. It was worth it when they reached the top though.  
There was a chalet up here, with a bunch of skis propped up outside and some other things that looked like they were probably meant for sliding down snowy hills on.

“Greetings fellows!” A hemulen in a bright orange outfit waved to them from the porch of the chalet, “Come to enjoy the slope?”  
“More like stumbled upon it, really.”  
“But enjoying the slope sounds like a lot of fun, now we’re here! I’m Moomin, and this is Snufkin.”  
The three all shared a shake of paws.  
“I’m Eddie, welcome to our little winter paradise!”  
Eddie gestured with his arms to the chalet and slope, looking incredibly proud of the whole thing. Before either of them could really reply he led them on a tour of the place, pointing out the various things available to use for having fun on the slope, the strange ski lift that had been the cause of the humming noise they heard that pulled them back to the top, and offered them a spot inside to stay the night that they eagerly accepted. A warm place to sleep for a change was most welcome.  
After the impromptu tour they joined a few of the others at a long dining table for an early supper of hearty soup and warm bread.  
“So who owns this place?”  
Moomin had never seen a place like this before, it didn’t seem to be anyone’s home and he was incredibly curious about the whole thing.  
“No one really.” Eddie explained around a mouthful of bread. “It was built as a collective effort to provide a nice safe shelter for all us ski enthusiasts, this is just the perfect spot for it and having a proper place to stay while we’re here is invaluable.”  
“Open doors for all winter sportsmen and intrepid travellers!” Another one of the residents chimed in.  
“It’s beautiful, I’m glad we stumbled across it.”

Almost everyone went right back outside after the meal, not wanting to waste the last of the daylight, and after dropping their packs onto the large sofa they’d been offered to sleep on both Moomin and Snufkin shot back outside too.  
“Y’know, it looks a lot steeper from the top like this…”  
Moomin was hovering close to where the slope began, leaning over to look down.  
“I suppose, although no steeper than Lonely Mountain in winter I imagine.”  
Snufkin joined him, looking nowhere near as cautious as Moomin did.  
To their left a group of 3 whooped loudly as they jumped onto some large tubes to slide down. The boys both watched them go, Snufkin with an amused smile and Moomin with curiosity.  
“Wanna go too?” Snufkin looked back at his friend.  
“Well. Yes, I do but it’s a bit nerve wracking…”  
“Remember that time we had to go rescue your parents from the Groke, when Moominpappa decided to spend the night camping?”  
Moomin remembered it very well. As scary as it had been, he’d had fun.  
“Yes?” He had a feeling he knew where Snufkin was going with this.  
Snufkin grabbed Moomin’s paw and tugged him along until they began to slide.  
“Bend your knees and lean forward, remember?”  
Moomin had begun laughing, following Snufkin’s lead and mirroring the pose he’d had back then.  
They skidded and twirled with the winding ridges in the snow of the slope, laughing and holding each other upright. There was no way Moomin was letting go of Snufkin’s paw, not until Snufkin let go himself. He was having too much fun and enjoying it far too much for that.

Using the ski lift was an experience. It had strange swooping handles to grab onto that looped around the back of their legs to pull them back to the top, which had taken a few tries to master. Made all the more difficult when they were both wheezing with laughter at each other’s stumbling so much they could hardly focus.

On the third go down they joined in a couple of the others using the tubes, which went a LOT faster than just sliding down on their feet. The tubes were nearly impossible to control or steer, which resulted in one of their companions falling out of their tube entirely and sliding the rest of the way down on their back, with the rest of them colliding with each other in a desperate attempt to avoid also being flung from their tubes.  
Their other companion ended up sprawled across 2 tubes, and Snufkin had ended up clinging onto Moomin in the same tube, everyone laughing loudly enough to echo off the hills.

All in all, it was a wonderful day and Moomin was reluctant to let it end, but the sun had set and everyone else had retired to the lodge for the night leaving just him and Snufkin lazily chasing the reflection of the lights dancing across the sky on the snow. It was a silly game, and utterly pointless as the movement of the aurora was erratic and unpredictable, but the colours were beautiful and if it meant he got to admire how very cat-like Snufkin looked sometimes when he leapt around and it was possibly the cutest thing he had ever seen then Moomin could quite happily ignore how childish it probably was.

They stumbled and danced back to the door of the lodge, revelling in the carefree joy of it all. It was a shame a day had to end, but any thought of prolonging it any further was chased away by the deep yawn that rattled through Moomin’s chest.  
He flopped onto his blanket that he’d laid out on the large U-shaped sofa earlier that day and sighed, only just now noticing how tired and sore he truly felt from all of the excitement. He watched Snufkin kick his boots off before dragging his overcoat over his head without bothering to remove his hat and scarf first, resulting in him getting stuck for a few seconds before he grunted and shoved the offending articles of clothing off in a pile.  
Moomin smiled.  
Snufkin was such a wonderful creature. Even something as simple as dropping his clothes on top of his pack and boots on the floor he managed to make look cute. Sure, that was definitely just his love-sick heart tripping over itself because this is _Snufkin_ and he thinks everything about him is wonderful, but right now he could not care less.

He shuffled himself into a more comfortable position, leaning back against the wall behind him with the pillow so he could see the whole room; the large windows that showed the icy mountains lit by the lights still dancing in the sky, the big fire that was the center-piece of the U-shaped sofa and was doing a wonderful job of keeping the place warm, the long dining table that now sat empty, and Snufkin sitting with his elbows over the back of the sofa and his chin resting on his arms, peacefully gazing out of the window.  
That was the only downside to getting to sleep in the warmth and comfort of the lodge for a change. There was no excuse of the cold to use so that he might curl up with Snufkin in his arms to sleep, and he was going to miss it.  
It was ridiculous, really. He’d slept the whole rest of his life without cuddling Snufkin and it really was plenty warm enough inside with the fire and blankets, but now he’d had a taste of what it felt like to fall asleep with his love so close he couldn’t help the feeling of cold he had despite it, nor the feeling of emptiness.  
He supposed he’d have to get used to it. Once the weather warmed back up again there’d be no need to share a tent anymore, let alone sleep huddled together, and that particular thought stung a lot more than he had thought it would.  
If he didn’t cut himself off from these thoughts soon they’d ruin what had been such a wonderful day, so he shuffled himself down with a final glance at Snufkin, sitting so close just beyond his own feet and yet seeming so very far away.  
“G’night Snuf.”

* * *

Snufkin allowed himself a smile at his friend’s sleepy voice.  
“Night Moomin.”  
He didn’t dare turn to look at him. His gaze remained fixed on the scenery outside with bitter determination.  
It wasn’t that he hadn’t enjoyed the day, he had, quite thoroughly! It was just that now it was time to sleep he had to face the fact that he had no excuse to bury his face in the softness of Moomin’s fur and enjoy the feeling of his arms around him. It was horribly selfish, taking advantage of his best friend doing his best to keep him warm in the icy winter temperatures in such a way, but they’d rather fallen into the routine of it and no one needed to know how much he enjoyed it. It was no one’s business but his own.  
He was still coming to terms with it himself, if he was honest.  
He’s Snufkin. Solitary vagabond who neither needs nor wants to be stifled by too much physical affection, and that is still true.  
But… well, perhaps there were exceptions he himself had not previously been aware of. Physical affection from Moomin didn’t feel stifling. He thought it might, worried about it even, but the feeling of being suffocated by the closeness never came.  
He supposed that it was because Moomin understood Snufkin.  
It had taken him some time, particularly when they were younger and his friend was significantly more clingy, but they’d created their own kind of melody together that only they could hear. Moomin always seemed to just _know_ when Snufkin was finding things a bit too much, or when being touched would make him uncomfortable, or even when what he really needed was a reassuring paw on his shoulder even when he didn’t know it himself.

The magnetic pull of his best friend finally proved too strong in the midst of such warm thoughts and Snufkin turned to gaze at him with a smile.  
He really was a remarkable moomin.  
A frown creased his eyebrows, glancing at the space between them. It was barely even a foot between where Snufkin’s knees were curled up and Moomin’s paws peeked out from under his blanket but it may as well be a mile.  
Arguing with oneself was truly a tiring and ultimately futile pastime and Snufkin had had quite enough of it. Moomin would tell him if he was uncomfortable, he was sure of it. If he didn’t like Snufkin overstepping his boundaries and crawling over to lay with him then he would say so, very kindly he knew, but he would say so.  
The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that it would crush him if he did ask him to move away. He wasn’t sure his heart could cope with that.  
It wasn’t faring so well forcing himself to write the idea off either, though. In fact Snufkin rather thought he might cry soon, and that wouldn’t do at all.

His tail flicked anxiously and he glared at it for daring to express his turmoil.  
Snufkin looked at Moomin again, admiring how utterly adorable he looked, and sighed.  
You know what? To hell with it. His father had once told him that it was better to ask forgiveness than seek permission, for what fun is permission for a mumrik?  
Constantly battling his own thoughts was frustrating and he was finding it difficult to come up with a good reason to deny himself something that made him happy.  
And it did.  
It did make him happy.  
Thinking about how romantic their surroundings were right now, a warm lodge with a comforting fire and a beautiful mountain scene outside. It had even begun to gently snow.  
Gingerly, Snufkin leaned over Moomin, looking for any sign that he might have noticed him moving closer and be uncomfortable with it.  
None came.  
He crawled up beside him, sliding down gently between Moomin and the back of the sofa and tucking his arms up against Moomin’s chest. It was exactly as warm as he knew it would be, and Moomin’s fur was blissfully soft under his paws.  
He didn’t even try to suppress the smile that crept onto his face, there was nowhere else he’d rather be right now.  
Moomin shifted a little and Snufkin went still, barely daring to even breathe.  
He waited, for a confused exclamation or for him to kindly move away and put some space between them again, but neither of those things happened.  
Instead Moomin seemed to look up and process how he found himself, before tucking his chin on top of Snufkin’s head and wrapped his free arm around his waist to settle back down.  
Snufkin could have cried with joy. He didn’t mind this. Moomin didn’t mind his weird friend going against everything he had ever told him about himself and choosing to tuck himself against him.  
A remarkable moomin indeed.  
He took a deep breath and let his eyes slip closed, looping his tail over both their legs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year, have a new chapter!
> 
> I'm sorry this is rather late, I got incredibly busy with drawing and picked at this here and there when I could, but it's here now and the next one shouldn't be so long!  
> We're getting closer to The Moment lads buckle up.

**Author's Note:**

> Well the last time I tried a multi-chapter fic it didn't go so well, BUT this time I have a whole series kind of planned? I'm really slow at updating sometimes I'm so sorry, feel free to yell at me about it.  
> I hope this is at least a little interesting?  
> I just love the idea of Moomin and Snufkin travelling together and I wanted to write about it. I want to write more in general, so this is a good excuse.
> 
> My tumblr is @ukthewhitewolf feel free to come bug me.


End file.
